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GAINSBOROUGH 


MISS    STEPHENS 


MRS.  FITZHERBERT 


R.BRINSLEY  SHERIDAN 


PRINCE  OF  WALES 


MRS   SHERIDAN 


LORD    RADNOR 


THE   ANCESTOR 

^ 

A  Quarterly  Review  of  County  and 

Family  History,  Heraldry 

and  Antiquities 


EDITED   BY 

OSWALD   BARRON   F.S.A 


NUMBER    IX 
APRIL    1904 


ARCHIBALD   CONSTABLE   &   CO   LTD 

2    WHITEHALL    GARDENS 

WESTMINSTER  S.W 


THE  pages  of  the  ANCESTOR  will  be  open 
to  correspondence  dealing  with  matters 
within  the  scope  of  the  review. 

Questions  will  be  answered,  and  advice 
will  be  given,  as  far  as  may  be  possible, 
upon  all  points  relating  to  the  subjects 
with  which  the  ANCESTOR  is  concerned. 

While  the  greatest  care  will  be  taken 
of  any  MSS.  which  may  be  submitted  for 
publication,  the  Editor  cannot  make  him- 
self responsible  for  their  accidental  loss. 

All  literary  communications  should  be 
addressed  to 

THE  EDITOR  OF  THE  ANCESTOR 
2  WHITEHALL  GARDENS 

WESTMINSTER  S.W 


cs 

M 
At, 


1130187 


CONTENTS 

MU 

SOME   ACCOUNT  OF  THE   SHERIDAN   FAMILY 

WILFRED  SHERIDAN  I 

FAMILY   HISTORY   FROM    PRIVATE   MANUSCRIPTS 

J.  HORACE  ROUND  6 

BLOHIN  :    HIS  DESCENDANTS  AND   LANDS 

REV.  THOMAS  TAYLOR  20 

A  SALISBURY  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  DEATH  REGISTER 

A.  R.  MALDEN  28 

A   GENEALOGIST'S  CALENDAR 36 

NOTES  ON   THE   TILES  AT  TEWKESBURY   ABBEY 

HAL  HALL  46 

THE   TRAFFORD  LEGEND W.  H.  B.  BIRD  65 

GEORGICS 83 

THE   COCKS  OF  THE   NORTH 89 

SKOAL   TO   THE   NORSEMAN  ! THE  EDITOR  103 

FIFTEENTH   CENTURY   COSTUME  ....      THE  EDITOR  113 

THE   ATTWOODS   AND  THEIR   BARD 137 

THE   CUMINS   OF   SNITTERFIELD  .     .     .  J.  HORACE  ROUND  146 

WHAT   IS   BELIEVED 150 

A   FIFTEENTH   CENTURY   ROLL  OF   ARMS 159 

OUR   OLDEST   FAMILIES  :    XI.  THE  OGLES      .      THE  EDITOR  181 

THE   WESTBURY    CUP SIR  J.  C.  ROBINSON  187 

SIR   FRANCIS   BARNHAM T.  BARRETT  LENNARD  191 

NOTES   FROM   THE   NETHERLANDS    .     .   H.  G.  A.  OBREEN  210 

HERALDS'   COLLEGE   AND   PRESCRIPTION.     IV. 

W.  PALEY  BAILDON  214 

THE   CURWENS  OF  WORKINGTON 225 

THE   FORTUNES  OF  A   MIDLAND   HOUSE 

W.  P.  W.  PHILLIMORE  230 

LETTERS  TO  THE   EDITOR 234 

EDITORIAL  NOTES 256 


The  Copyright  of  all  the  Article*  and  Illustrations 
in  thit  Review  is  strictly  reserved 


LIST  OF    ILLUSTRATIONS 

A  GROUP  OF  SHERIDANS Frontispiece 

WILLIAM  SHERIDAN,  BISHOP  OF  KILMORE 


FAGt 


op. 
DR.  SHERIDAN. 

THOMAS  SHERIDAN,  A.M „  2 

MRS.  SHERIDAN  (Miss  FRANCES  CHAMBERLAIN) .     „  4 

RICHARD  BRINSLEY  SHERIDAN  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN  IN  FANCY  DRESS    .     „  6 

MRS.  SHERIDAN  (Miss  LINLEY)  AND  HER  BROTHER „  8 

WILLIAM  LINLEY,  FATHER  OF  MRS.   SHERIDAN „  10 

MRS.  SHERIDAN  (Miss  LINLEY)  AS  ST.  CECILIA      .      .     .     .     .     .     „  12 

RICHARD  BRINSLEY  SHERIDAN ,,  14. 

THOMAS  SHERIDAN,  SON  OF  RICHARD  BRINSLEY  SHERIDAN                      „  16 

CHARLES  KINNAIRD  SHERIDAN  IN  SUIT  OF  ARMOUR „  1 8 

LADY  GEORGIANA,   DUCHESS  OF  SOMERSET „  20 

A  MOTLEY  FAMILY  PORTRAIT 22 

TILES  AT  TEWKESBURY  ABBEY.     Eighteen  plates 47-^3 

ILLUSTRATIONS  OF  FIFTEENTH  CENTURY  COSTUME.    Eleven  plates     .    116-136 

THE  WESTBURY  Cup .  op.  188 


0 

M 

S if 

^        rn 

o    " 


SOME   ACCOUNT   OF   THE   SHERIDAN 

FAMILY 

THE  immorta,!  Bob  Acres  in  the  Rivals  is  made  to  say, 
'  Think  what  it  would  be  to  disgrace  my  ancestors ' ; 
to  which  his  servant  rejoins,  *  Under  favour,  the  surest  way  of 
not  disgracing  them  is  to  keep  as  long  as  you  can  out  of  their 
company.'  Our  ancestors  are  very  good  kind  of  folks,  but  they 
are  the  last  people  I  should  choose  to  have  a  visiting  acquaint- 
ance with,'  and  in  reviewing  my  ancestors  I  cannot  but  heartily 
endorse  the  sentiments  expressed. 

The  first  Sheridan,  of  whom  there  is  no  authentic  record 
save  a  document  preserved  in  the  College  of  Arms  at  Dublin, 
was  named  Oscar  O'Seridan  of  Castle  Toger,  co.  Cavan. 
His  date  is  given  as  1014,  and  he  married  a  daughter  of  the 
O'Rourke,  Prince  of  Leitrim ;  from  them  were  descended  a 
high  sounding  roll  of  Princes  of  Leitrim,  of  Sligo,  and  of 
Cavan,  a  glorious  roll  of  names  unhampered  by  dates  or 
evidences,  in  which  the  arrival  of  one  Jane  Atkinson  as  a  bride 
of  the  late  fourteenth  century  period,  offends  by  its  common- 
place probability.  After  Jane  the  pedigree  halts  rather 
lamely,  as  though  the  course  of  the  hitherto  pure  and  undefiled 
stream  of  ancestry  could  not  resume  its  flow  of  unbroken 
nonsense  after  meeting  such  a  rock  of  middle-class  nomen- 
clature. But  when  facts  are  encountered,  our  pedigree  may 
at  least  be  said  to  begin  happily  enough  with  a  celebrity. 
William  Sheridan  (1635-1711)  was  the  first  male  about  whom 
anything  is  known,  and  he  attained  a  celebrity  which  no 
successor  has  ever  attempted  to  emulate,  for  he  became  Bishop 
of  Kilmore,  and  from  an  old  print  (reproduced)  seems  to 
have  had  the  cast  of  countenance  described  by  a  descendant 
as  a  '  damned  disinheriting  one,'  A  Sheridan  bishop  is  not 
a  personage  one  can  contemplate  with  any  gravity,  and  so 
we  pass  on  to  his  son  Thomas  Sheridan,  an  Irishman  of  the 
most  pronounced  type.  He  was  born  in  1687,  matricu- 
lating at  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  in  1707,  and  married  when 
very  young  Elizabeth  Macfadden,  who  brought  him  as  her 
dower  the  lands  of  Quilca  Dumbrat  and  Carrickacrow,  pro- 


2  THE   ANCESTOR 

perty  which  had  belonged  to  the  Sheridans,  who  through 
their  allegiance  to  James  II.  had  forfeited  it  in  favour  of 
Charles  Macfadden,  a  supporter  of  William  of  Orange. 

The  happy  accident  of  marriage  restored  the  property  to 
its  original  possessors.  Dr.  Thomas  Sheridan,  soon  after  his 
marriage,  became  the  intimate  friend  of  the  terrible  Dean 
Swift,  who  procured  for  him  a  schoolmastership  in  Dublin 
yielding  him  £1,000  a  year,  and  endeavoured  to  get  him  to 
accept  one  of  £1,400  outside  Dublin.  Dr.  Thomas  however 
with  fatal  judgment,  acting  on  the  advice  of  other  people, 
remained  in  Dublin — there  is  a  letter  of  his  extant  to  Swift 
which  tells  the  story.  *  As  for  my  quondam  friends,  as  you 
style  them,  quondam  them  all,  for  they  lulled  me  to  sleep 
till  they  stole  my  school  into  the  hands  of  a  blockhead,  and 
have  driven  me  towards  the  latter  end  of  my  life  to  a  disagree- 
able solitude/ 

Swift  however,  with  a  good  nature  not  very  character- 
istic, did  not  despair,  and  through  his  influence  the  Lord 
Lieutenant  Carteret,  afterwards  Lord  Granville,  appointed 
Dr.  Sheridan  one  of  his  private  chaplains,  and  gave  him  a 
living  in  the  county  of  Cork.  His  first  sermon  there  was 
also  his  last,  for  not  being,  when  Sunday  arrived,  prepared 
with  a  discourse,  he  seized  the  first  that  came  to  hand.  Now 
it  so  chanced  that  the  date  was  i  August,  and  the  anniver- 
sary of  Queen  Anne's  death,  and  among  the  Whigs  a  day  of 
great  rejoicing.  The  text  he  had  elected  was  :  *  Sufficient 
unto  the  day  is  the  evil  thereof.'  This,  as  may  be  imagined, 
was  speedily  turned  to  his  disadvantage,  though  the  sermon 
itself  was  absolutely  free  from  Jacobitism.  Dr.  Thomas  was 
dispossessed  of  his  living,  his  name  was  struck  off  the  list  of 
chaplains,  and  he  was  forbidden  to  appear  at  the  Vice-Regal 
Court. 

Friends  however  seemed  to  surround  this  eccentric  divine, 
who  must  have  had  something  very  lovable  in  his  nature, 
for  his  predecessor  in  the  living  he  had  quitted  under  such 
peculiar  circumstances  presented  him  with  a  house  and  estate 
with  a  rental  of  £800  a  year.  On  the  strength  of  this,  Dr. 
Thomas  lived  up  to  twice  the  amount.  Thomas  the  eldest 
boy  was  sent  to  Westminster  School,  and  concerts  and  dinner 
parties  were  of  frequent  occurrence.  Soon  however  his 
school  began  to  fail  from  competition,  and  in  a  short  time  he 
was  again  in  difficulties.  Swift  once  more  came  to  the  rescue, 


THOMAS  SHERIDAN,  A.M. 


THE   SHERIDAN   FAMILY  3 

and  for  some  time  Dr.  Sheridan  lived  as  an  inmate  of  the 
deanery.  A  quarrel  soon  came.  Swift  asked  Dr.  Sheridan 
to  note  and  tell  him  if  he  (Dr.  Swift)  was  growing  stingy  with 
old  age.  With  the  brutal  frankness  of  a  thoroughly  unsophis- 
ticated nature,  Dr.  Sheridan  '  all  his  faults  observed,  set  in  a 
note-book,  learned  and  conned  by  rote  to  cast  into  his  teeth.' 

Swift  resented  it  quite  as  much  as  Cassius,  and  in  a  far 
more  practical  form,  for  he  turned  Dr.  Sheridan  out  of  the 
house,  and  so  ended  a  friendship  which  had  produced  kindness 
and  benevolence  from  one,  and  humour  and  native  wit  of  a 
high  quality  from  the  other.  It  is  noteworthy  that  each 
wrote  a  life  of  the  other,  and  that  each  regretted  bitterly  the 
trivial  cause  that  had  separated  two  lifelong  friends. 

Dr.  Sheridan  died  in  October  1738,  and  Thomas  Sheridan 
his  son  reigned  in  his  stead.  Born  in  1719,  he  was  but  nine- 
teen years  old  at  his  father's  death.  His  education  at  West- 
minster and  subsequent  induction  into  Trinity  College, 
Dublin,  had  fitted  him  for  nothing  but  an  easy  life,  a  state  his 
temperament  and  means  were  against  his  ever  achieving. 
Left  almost  penniless  at  his  father's  death,  he  resolved  to 
adopt  the  stage  as  a  path  to  fortune,  and  for  a  time  Dublin 
received  him  as  her  Garrick.  There  was  in  my  possession  a 
play-bill  of  Othello,  in  which  the  heavily  leaded  characters 
are  MR.  SHERIDAN  (lago)  and  MR.  GARRICK  (Othello),  with 
an  announcement  that  the  parts  on  future  nights  would  be 
alternated,  Mr.  Sheridan  playing  the  Moor  and  Garrick  lago. 
So  well  were  his  efforts  crowned  that  he  became  manager  and 
part  owner  of  the  Dublin  theatre.  An  unfortunate  quarrel 
with  one  of  his  company  resulted  in  the  theatre  being  wrecked 
and  Mr.  Sheridan  beggared. 

Mr.  Sheridan,  I  fear,  suffered  all  through  life  from  being 
somewhat  pompous  and  not  a  little  of  a  prig.  Moreover  he 
was  dull,  and  as  such,  however  wronged  a  person  may  be,  it  is 
very  difficult  to  raise  any  great  degree  of  sympathy  for  their 
troubles.  He  had  to  leave  Ireland,  to  let  the  wreckage  of  his 
theatre,  and  turn  his  hand,  a  somewhat  heavy  one,  to  elocution 
and  the  study  of  oratory.  Here  he  fell  foul  of  Dr.  Johnson, 
who  descended  upon  his  efforts  with  elephantine  wit.  *  I 
ask  a  plain  question.  What  do  you  mean  to  teach  ?  What 
influence  can  Mr.  Sheridan  have  on  the  language  of  this  great 
country  by  his  narrow  exertions.  Sir,  it  is  burning  a  candle 
at  Dover  to  show  light  at  Calais.' 


4  THE   ANCESTOR 

In  1747  Mr.  Sheridan  married  Miss  Frances  Chamber- 
laine,  a  lady  whose  novel,  The  Memoirs  of  Sidney  Biddulpk, 
is  said  to  have  taken  the  town  by  storm.  Charles  Fox  pro- 
nounced it  the  best  novel  of  the  age,  and  Dr.  Johnson  com- 
plained that  the  plot  was  too  harrowing.  Sidney  Biddulpb 
was  translated  into  French  and  dramatized  for  the  stage. 
Fired  with  success,  she  attempted  a  play,  and  Garrick  enacted 
the  leading  part  in  The  Discovery,  as  it  was  called.  This 
too  was  received  with  rapture,  and  her  fame  as  novelist  and 
playwright  was  secure. 

The  children  of  this  not  undistinguished  pair  were  :  first, 
Charles  Francis,  Richard  Brinsley  and  Elizabeth  and  Alicia. 
Of  these  four  the  eldest  was  undistinguished.  Alicia  became 
the  wife  of  Joseph  Lefanu  and  wrote  novels  that  attained 
a  certain  celebrity,  but  no  enduring  fame,  Strathallan,  I  im- 
agine, being  the  best  known  or  perhaps  the  least  forgotten 
of  them. 

Of  the  second  son  so  much  has  been  written  and  so  little 
in  comparison  is  really  known,  that  I  hesitate  to  add  to  the 
number  of  his  commentators.  All  the  civilized  world  knows 
The  School  for  Scandal ;  the  man  is  but  a  dullard  who  is 
incapable  of  appreciating  the  wit  of  the  Critic  or  the  sparkling 
satire  of  the  Rivals. 

His  speeches,  alas,  are  gone  for  ever.  Reporting  was  very 
different  in  those  days  to  what  it  is  now ;  and  singularly  im- 
perfect as  the  reports  are,  there  are  yet  passages  which  quicken 
the  pulse  and  burn  their  way  into  the  brain :  his  speech  on 
the  mutiny  at  the  Nore ;  the  wonderful  oration  against 
Warren  Hastings,  the  success  of  which  was  so  great  that  the 
House  had  to  be  adjourned  for  the  effect  to  wear  off. 

He  married  twice ;  by  his  first  wife,  the  beautiful  and 
accomplished  Miss  Linley,  he  had  one  son,  like  his  grandfather 
and  great-grandfather  christened  Thomas  ;  by  his  second 
wife,  Miss  Ogle,  daughter  of  the  Dean  of  Winchester,  a 
daughter  who  died  in  infancy. 

Tom,  as  he  was  generally  called,  inherited  the  beauty  of 
his  mother  and  the  wit  of  his  father  ;  he  married  Henrietta 
Callander,  and  by  her  had  three  daughters  and  three  sons,  all 
distinguished  alike  for  cleverness  and  extreme  good  looks. 

Of  the  daughters,  Helen  married  Lord  Dufferin,  and 
became  the  mother  of  the  celebrated  diplomatist  and  am- 
bassador. Caroline,  married  George  Chappel  Norton, 


MRS.  SHERIDAN. 

(MISS   FRANCES   CHAMBERLAIN.) 

A  pastel—  artist  unknown. 


THE   SHERIDAN   FAMILY  5 

Recorder  of  Guildford,  and  had  three  children,  the  second 
son  of  whom,  Thomas  Brinsley,  became  Lord  Grantley, 
succeeding  his  uncle  who  was  the  great-grandson  of  the 
famous  Sir  Fletcher  Norton,  Lord  Grantley.  At  his  death  she 
married  Sir  William  Stirling  Maxwell  of  Keir,  by  whom  was 
no  issue. 

Jane  Georgina,  Tom's  third  daughter,  married  the  twelfth 
Duke  of  Somerset.  The  *  queen  of  love  and  beauty '  of  the 
Eglinton  tournament,  the  newspapers  of  next  year  will  often 
recall  her  memory  should  the  promised  revival  of  that  famous 
folly  ever  take  shape.  Amongst  her  grandchildren  are 
the  present  Countess  of  Verulam,  the  present  Duchess  of 
Montrose,  the  late  Lady  Houghton,  and  Mrs.  George  Faber, 
also  Sir  Richard  Graham  of  Netherby,  who  married  in  the 
first  place  his  first  cousin  Miss  Baring,  and  secondly  another 
first  cousin,  Lady  Cynthia  Duncombe.  These  were  the  child- 
ren respectively  of  Mrs.  Charles  Baring  and  of  the  Countess 
of  Feversham,  who  were  the  beautiful  daughters  of  Fanny 
Callander  and  Sir  James  Graham. 

The  three  sons  of  Tom  Sheridan  and  Henrietta  Callander 
were  Brinsley,  Frank  arid  Charles.  Brinsley  married  Miss 
Grarit,  daughter  of  Sir  Colquhoun  Grant  and  heiress  of 
Frampton  Court,  Dorset.  The  marriage  was  celebrated 
under  romantic  circumstances,  the  young  couple  eloping  to 
Gretna  Green,  their  marriage  being  the  last  that  took  place 
there. 

Their  third  son,  Algernon  Brinsley,  succeeded  his  father 
and  added  to  the  lustre  of  the  family  by  marrying  Miss  Mary 
Motley,  daughter  of  the  gifted  author  of  the  Rise  of  the  Dutch 
Republic,  who  was  for  many  years  American  Minister  at  the 
courts  of  St.  James  and  Vienna. 

The  only  living  daughter  of  Brinsley  Sheridan  and  Miss 
Grant  is  Florence,  who  married  Lord  Poltimore,  whose  eldest 
son,  Coplestone  Bampfylde,  married  Margaret  Beaumont,  the 
great-granddaughter  of  the  celebrated  George  Canning. 

WILFRED   SHERIDAN. 


THE    ANCESTOR 


FAMILY   HISTORY   FROM    PRIVATE 
MANUSCRIPTS 


following  selections  are  made  from  the  MSS.  of  Lord 
Carlisle,  preserved  at  Castle  Howard  (6th  Appendix  to 
1  5th  Report  on  Historical  MSS.).     The  descriptions  of  some 
famous  mansions  of  the  eighteenth  century  are  of  interest. 
Footnotes  are  added  where  required. 

J.  H.  R. 

LADY  E.  LECHMERE  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1721,  19  Aug.  —  My  Lord  Warwick  is  gone  off  very  young;  I 
hear  he  made  no  will,  and  there  is  but  300  a  year  goes  with  the  title, 
which  will  make  a  very  poor  Earl.1 

[LADY]  MARY  HOWARD  OF  WORKSOP  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1722,  23  May  [London].  —  The  many  obligations  I  have  formerly 
received  from  your  Lordship  gives  (sic)  me  the  hopes  of  your  favour  in 
this,  which  is  in  behalf  of  a  relation  of  your  Lordship's  as  well  as  mine, 
Mr.  Barnard  Howard['s]  son,2  who  came  here  with  his  family  some 
months  ago.     He  is  a  stranger  in  these  parts,  and  came  here  only  for 
his  conveniency  for  some  time  ;  so  is  only  a  lodger.     The  noise  of  a 
plot  has  obliged  the  Lord  Mayor  to  summon  all  gentlemen  to  the  Hall 
to  take  the  oaths,  or  find  bail.     The  first  your  Lordship  knows  is  never 
done  amongst  us  ;  the  latter  is  what  he  cannot  pretend  to  get  by  his 
small  acquaintance  here.     The  favour  that  is  desired  from  your  Lord- 
ship is  one  line  to  my  Lord  Mayor,  [which]  would  make  him  not 
require  that  of  him  which  he  does  to  [of]  those  that  are  housekeepers 
here.     He  is  to  appear  on  Saturday  next  by  nine  of  the  clock  in  the 
morning  ;  and  if  it  were  not  improper  for  your  Lordship  to  send  one 
to  the  Court,  it  would  give  a  countenance  to  the  distressed  relation, 
whose  wife  is  more  likely  to  die  than  live.     I  am  sure,  whatever  you 
will  think  fit  to  do  in  this  affair,  my  son  Norfolk  will  have  the  same 
regard  as  if  it  was  done  to  himself.     Give  me  leave  to  beg  one  line  in 
answer  to  this. 

1  He  died  aged  twenty-three.  The  title  went  to  his  kinsman,  and  the 
Kensington  estate  (recently  in  the  market)  to  his  aunt,  Lord  Kensington's 
ancestress  (see  Complete  Peerage). 

»  Son  of  her  husband's  uncle,  and  ancestor  of  the  present  duke. 


RICHARD  BRINSI.EY  SHERIDAN  AS  A  YOUNG  MAN,  IN  FANCY  DRESS. 

Artist  unknown. 


FAMILY   HISTORY  7 

SIR  J.  VANBRUGH  TO  LORD  CARLISLE 

1722,  19  June,  London. — I  have  only  time  to-night  to  acquaint 
your  Lordship  with  a  few  particulars  I  have  learnt  of  what  my  Lord 
Marlborough  has  left,  which  is  more  than  the  most  extravagant 
believers  ever  named. 

He  has  left  his  widow  (I  wish  some  ensign  had  her)  io,ooo/.  a 
year,  to  spoil  Blenheim  her  own  way ;  1 2,ooo/.  a  year  more  to  keep 
herself  clean,  and  plague  folks  at  law  with  ;  2,ooo/.  a  year  to  Lord 
Sund[erland]  for  ever,  and  as  much  to  the  Duchess  of  Montague  for 
life  ;  8,ooo/.  a  year  to  Lord  Ryalton  for  present  maintenance  ;  and 
the  gross  of  his  wealth  (for  these  are  but  snippings)  to  Lady  Godolphin 
and  her  successors,  according  to  the  grand  settlement.  I  forgot  one 
article  (a  sad  one)  :  he  has  only  given  Lord  Godolphin  a  jointure  of 
3,ooo/.  a  year  if  he  outlives  my  Lady.  This  I  fancy  was  her  Grace's 
doings  for  not  voting  for  her  [on  her  appeal  to  the  House  of  Lords  in 
her  action  against  Sir  J.  V.] 

LADY  E.  LECHMERE  TO  HER  SISTER  THE  VISCOUNTESS  OF  IRWIN 

1731,  ii  July,  n.s.,  Paris. — The  Duke  of  Wharton  has  at  last 
finished  a  despicable,  extravagant  life.  His  estate  and  character  died 
before  him,  and  his  name  will  not  long  survive  him.  I  believe  no 
person  in  the  time  ever  made  so  effectual  a  dispatch  of  both,  and  it  will 
be  difficult  for  any  genius  that  comes  after  him  to  imitate  him  through 
all  the  circles  of  his  short  course  of  life.  .  .  . 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1731,  9  Dec.,  Albemarle  Street. — My  house  in  Yorksfhirje1  is 
now  entirely  fitted  up  to  be  warm  and  convenient  for  my  family,  and, 
with  the  wings,  makes  a  regular  front  of  146  feet  to  the  Park,  and  to 
the  north  are  three  courts  for  offices.  My  chief  expense  has  been  in 
Palladian  doors  and  windows,  which  I  am  told  have  a  very  good  effect, 
and  in  building  a  stable  for  fifteen  horses  as  a  wing  to  the  house,  which 
makes  the  regularity,  and  occasions  so  large  a  front,  as  I  have  mentioned 
above.  There  is  now  nothing  wanting  for  our  reception  but  to  put  up 
the  furniture,  which  is  ready  there  for  that  end,  and  I  can  assure  your 
Lordship  in  none  of  my  future  schemes  I  propose  to  myself  so  much 
pleasure  as  in  retiring  to  Rookby  Park.  How  soon  that  may  be,  we 
have  not  yet  determined,  but  sooner  or  later  in  life  'tis  what  we  shall 
certainly  do. 

I  was  a  fortnight  in  my  tour  into  the  eastern  parts  of  England,  and 
was,  during  that  time,  a  week  at  Houghton.8  We  were  generally 
between  twenty  and  thirty  at  two  tables,  and  as  much  cheerfulness  and 

i  Rokeby  Park. 
3  Now  belonging  to  Sir  Robert's  descendant,  Lord  Cholmondeley. 


8  THE   ANCESTOR 

good  nature  as  I  ever  saw  where  the  company  was  so  numerous.  Young 
Lady  Walpole  and  Mrs.  Hamond  (Sir  R[obert  Walpole's]  sister)  were 
the  only  two  ladies.  Sir  Robert  does  the  honours  of  his  house  extremely 
well,  and  so  as  to  make  it  perfectly  agreeable  to  everyone  who  lives 
with  him.  They  hunted  six  days  in  the  week,  three  times  with  Lord 
Walpole's  fox-hounds,  and  thrice  with  Sir  R[obert's]  harriers  and 
indeed  'tis  a  very  fine  open  country  for  sport. 

During  the  Duke  of  Lorrain's  being  there  the  consumption  both 
from  the  larder  and  the  cellar  was  prodigious.  They  dined  in  the 
hall,  which  was  lighted  by  130  wax  candles,  and  the  saloon  with  50  ; 
the  whole  expense  in  that  article  being  computed  at  fifteen  pounds 
a  night. 

The  house  is  less  than  Mr.  Duncomb's,  but  as  they  make  use  of  the 
ground  storey,  and  have  cellars  under  that,  I  believe  it  is  the  best  house 
in  the  world  for  its  size,  capable  of  the  greatest  reception  for  company, 
and  the  most  convenient  state  apartments,  very  noble,  especially  the 
hall  and  saloon.  The  finishing  of  the  inside  is,  I  think,  a  pattern  for 
all  great  houses  that  may  hereafter  be  built  :  the  vast  quantity  of 
mahogoni,  all  the  doors,  window-shutters,  best  staircase,  etc.,  being 
entirely  of  that  wood  ;  the  finest  chimnies  of  statuary  and  other  fine 
marbles ;  the  ceilings  in  the  modern  taste  by  Italians,  painted  by 
Mr.  Kent,  and  finely  gilt  ;  the  furniture  of  the  richest  tapestry,  etc.; 
the  pictures  hung  on  Genoa  velvet  and  damask  ;  this  one  article  is  the 
price  of  a  good  house,  for  in  one  drawing-room  there  are  to  the  value  of 
three  thousand  pounds  ;  in  short,  the  whole  expense  of  this  place  must 
be  a  prodigious  sum,  and,  I  think,  all  done  in  a  fine  taste.  There  is 
only  one  dining  room  to  be  finished,  which  is  to  be  lined  with  marble, 
and  will  be  a  noble  work.  The  offices  are  also  built  of  Mr.  Cholmley's 
stone,  and  are  well  disposed  and  suitable  to  the  house.  In  one  wing 
are  the  kitchens  and  all  necessary  rooms  belonging  to  a  table,  servants' 
halls,  etc.,  and  over  head  are  several  very  good  lodging  rooms  ;  in  the 
other  are  the  brew-house  and  wash-house,  etc.,  and  a  very  magnificent 
hall  for  a  chapel,  and  a  large  room  which  looks  on  the  parterre,  designed 
for  a  gallery,  there  being  the  same  in  the  opposite  wing  for  a  green- 
house. 

The  enclosure  of  the  Park  contains  seven  hundred  acres,  very  finely 
planted,  and  the  ground  laid  out  to  the  greatest  advantage.  The  gardens 
are  about  forty  acres,  which  are  only  fenced  from  the  Park  by  a^W,  and 
I  think  very  prettily  disposed.  Sir  Robert  and  Bridgeman  showed  me 
the  large  design  for  the  plantations  in  the  country,  which  is  the  present 
undertaking  ;  they  are  to  be  plumps  and  avenues  to  go  quite  round  the 
Park  pale,  and  to  make  straight  and  oblique  lines  of  a  mile  or  two  in 
length,  as  the  situation  of  the  country  admits  of.  This  design  will  be 
about  twelve  miles  in  circumference,  and  nature  has  disposed  of  the 
country  so  as  these  plantations  will  have  a  very  noble  and  fine  effect ; 
and  at  every  angle  there  are  to  be  obelisks,  or  some  other  building.  In 


MRS.  SHERIDAN  (Miss  LINLEY)  AND  HICK  BROTHER. 

Front  a  pastel  ly  Gainsborough. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  9 

short,  the  outworks  at  Houghton  will  be  200  years  hence  what  those 
at  Castle  Howard  are  now,  for  he  has  very  little  full-grown  timber,  and 
not  a  drop  of  water  for  ornament ;  but  take  altogether  it  is  a  seat  so 
perfectly  magnificent  and  agreeable,  that  I  think  nothing  but  envy 
itself  can  find  fault  because  there  is  no  more  of  the  one,  and  I  scarce 
missed  the  entire  want  of  the  other. 

The  stables  (which  are  very  large  and  [have]  been  finished  about 
thirteen  years  ago)  are  to  be  pulled  down  next  summer,  not  only  as  they 
are  very  ill  built,  but  stand  in  the  way  of  one  of  the  most  agreeable 
prospects  you  have  from  the  house,  and  'tis  not  yet  quite  determined 
whether  they  should  be  rebuilt  as  wings  to  the  Park  front  of  the  house, 
and  as  part  of  the  whole  design,  or  only  a  separate  building,  only  for 
use  and  not  to  appear.  I  own  I  argued  strenuously  for  the  former,  but 
Sir  Robert  seems  almost  fixed  upon  having  a  plain  structure,  and  to  be 
placed  out  of  the  way  and  not  to  be  seen  in  your  approach  to  the 
house.  The  other  wings  are  thrown  quite  backwards  into  the  garden, 
and  make  very  little  ornament  to  this  front  of  the  house,  which,  being 
without  either  a  portico,  three-quarter  columns  and  a  pediment,  or  any 
other  break,  appears  to  me  to  be  too  naked  and  exposed,  and  rather  as 
an  end  front  to  a  very  large  palace,  than  the  principal  one  of  a  modern 
house  ;  and  wings  to  be  built  here  would  greatly  obviate  all  objections 
of  this  nature. 

I  had  forgot  his  fine  La[o]coon  in  brass,  done  by  the  famous 
Gerrardon  (who  made  my  equestrian  figure  of  Lewis  14-th),  which 
cost  1,000  guin[eas]  at  Paris  ;  a  fine  gilt  gladiator,  given  him  by  Lord 
Pembroke,  and  which  is  very  prettily  placed  on  four  Doric  columns 
with  their  proper  entablature,  which  stand  in  the  void  of  the  great 
staircase  :  and  the  figure  stands  upon  a  level  with  the  floor  of  the  great 
apartment,  and  fronts  the  door  which  goes  into  the  hall,  and  has  a  very 
fine  effect,  when  you  go  out  of  that  room.  Upon  the  s[tair]case  he  has 
several  other  fine  bronzes,  and  twelve  noble  busts  in  the  hall.  His 
statues  for  two  niches  are  not  yet  bought ;  the  La[o]coon  stands  before 
that  which  is  opposite  to  the  chimney. 

I  have  said  so  much  on  Houghton,  that  'twould  be  swelling  my 
letter  to  too  great  a  size,  to  give  my  observations  in  this  of  the  other 
seats  I  saw  in  my  tour,  but  will  send  them  to  your  Lordship  the 
next  post. 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1731,  12  Dec.,  Albemarle  Street. — I  promised  your  Lordship  in 
my  last  letter  to  continue  my  remarks  on  the  tour  I  lately  made  into 
Norfolk,  etc.  I  am  the  more  emboldened  in  doing  it,  as  this  is  a  part 
of  England  you  have  not  seen  a  great  many  years,  and  all  the  great 
improvements  have  not  been  of  very  long  standing. 

'Tis  five  miles  from  Sir  Robert's  to  Lord  Townshend's.1     The 

1   Raynham  Hall. 


io  THE  ANCESTOR 

beauty  of  this  place  consists  of  three  very  noble  woods.  In  that  nearest 
the  house  are  some  of  as  large  oaks  as  I  ever  saw  in  my  life ;  and 
at  a  proper  distance  from  it  is  a  piece  of  water  of  26  acres,  which 
makes  a  sort  of  half-circle,  and  has  a  very  noble  effect.  [The]  greatest 
part  of  the  house  was  built  by  our  Master  Inigo  Jones.  It  has  lately 
been  sashed,  and  prettily  ornamented  on  the  inside  by  Mr.  Kent ;  and 
the  four  fronts  lays  [lie]  open  to  the  Park,  there  being  only  a  little 
corridor  which  runs  to  a  new  building  of  kitchen  offices,  etc.  The 
situation  is  fine,  and  indeed  it  is  a  very  noble  seat. 

Ten  miles  from  Sir  Robert's  is  Lord  Lovell's,1  who  is  beginning 
his  improvements,  but  has  no  other  temptation  than  that  his  ancestors 
lived  there,  and  have  left  a  large  estate  round  an  exceeding  bad  old 
house,  for  his  water  is  to  [be]  brought,  his  plantations  but  just  begun, 
and  a  house  to  be  built,  and  not  fifty  pounds'  worth  of  wood  within  two 
miles  of  the  place,  so  that  'tis  pretty  much  the  same  as  if  any  monied 
person  bought  a  1,000  acres  (which  is  the  whole  design)  of  any 
common  kind  of  ground  of  a  tolerable  situation,  and  begun  a  seat  there. 
His  successors  might  reap  an  advantage,  but  life  is  too  short  for  the 
first  generation  to  receive  much  benefit  where  there  are  so  many 
disadvantages  from  nature,  and  the  whole  to  be  compassed  only  by  art, 
time,  and  expense. 

I  was  two  days  at  the  Duke  of  Grafton's,  at  Euston.  The  house 
was  built  by  his  mother's  father,2  and,  though  of  so  short  a  standing,  is 
ready  to  fall,  being  so  very  slightly  finished,  and  all  the  materials  so 
very  bad.  The  garden  of  about  80  acres  is  fenced  on  one  side  from 
the  park  by  a  brick  wall  in  a  fosst,  as  at  Sir  Robert's,  and  the  slope  from 
the  terras  in  the  garden  so  wide,  that  the  wall  is  plante[d]  with  fruit 
trees,  and  so  disposed  that  they  have  a  sufficient  quantity  of  sun  to 
ripen  their  respective  fruits.  On  the  other  side  the  fence,  between  the 
garden  and  the  park,  is  a  very  pretty  rivulet  cut  in  a  winding  and 
irregular  manner,  with  now  and  then  a  little  lake,  etc.,  and  over  it  in 
one  approach  to  the  house  is  a  wooden  bridge  built  by  Lord  Burlinton, 
with  an  arch  that  appears  almost  flat,  and  from  hence  you  have  a  beau- 
tiful prospect  of  the  water,  which  is  indeed  delightfully  disposed.  The 
park  is  about  9  miles  about.  The  Duke  has  hitherto  done  very 
little  to  it,  but  is  now  entering  into  a  taste,  but  nature  has  done  so 
much  for  him,  and  his  woods  and  lawns  are  disposed  in  so  agreeable 
a  manner,  that  a  little  art  and  expense  will  make  it  a  most  charming 
place.  He  has  a  wood  out  of  the  park  something  like  Pretty-wood  at 
Castle  H[owar]d,  which  might  be  made  a  noble  thing. 

In  my  way  home,  I  spent  a  day  with  Lord  Bristol  at  Ickworth, 
which  is  by  much  the  finest  park  I  ever  yet  saw,  being  about  1,200 

1  Holkham.  Thomas  Coke  was  created  Lord  Lovel  in  1728  and  Earl  of 
Leicester  1744. 

a  Henry  (Bennet)  Earl  of  Arlington  (d.  1685). 


WILLIAM  LINLEY. 

FATHER  OF   MRS.    SHERIDAN. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  n 

acres,  and  above  25,ooo/.  of  exceeding  fine  oaks,  etc.  Within  the 
pale,  the  disposition  of  the  woods,  lawns  [and]  valleys  (where  for  a 
small  expense  he  might  have  any  quantity  of  water),  and  the  rising 
hills  covered  with  large  old  timber,  are  all  truly  magnificent  and  agree- 
able. They  live  in  a  tenant's  old  house  in  the  park,  so  very  bad  a 
habitation,  that  I  am  astonished  how  so  large  a  family  have  so  long 
made  a  shift  in  it.  The  old  mansion-house  was  pulled  down  about 
twenty  years  ago,  and  those  materials  and  others  sufficient  to  build  a 
new  house  were  led  to  another  situation,  and  the  new  one  determined 
to  be  built  ;  but  an  ill  run  at  play  (as  fame  reports)  stopped  the  design, 
and  most  of  the  wood,  brick,  and  stone  have  since  been  used  in  tenants' 
houses.  His  Lordship  has  been  at  very  little  expense,  but  nature  has 
been  so  much  his  friend  that  little  assistance  is  wanting  from  art. 

I  was  at  Lord  Suffolk's  at  Audly  End,1  which  stands  upon  a  vast 
deal  of  ground,  but  I  think  has  not  one  comfortable  room  in  it.  The 
park  is  very  prettily  improved,  and  a  very  genteel  spot  of  ground, 
though  of  no  great  extent. 

From  thence  I  closed  my  tour  by  spending  a  day  at  Lord  Tilney's,3 
who  expressed  great  concern  he  could  not  wait  on  your  Lordship  last 
summer,  when  he  was  in  the  North,  and  [at]  not  having  seen  Castle 
H[owar]d.  From  a  punctilio  of  honour  he  told  me  he  would  not  go 
to  Mr.  Aislaby's,  though  he  had  an  apportunity  to  have  seen  the  place. 
There  is  little  done  to  the  house  since  your  Lordship  saw  it,  but  he 
has  made  vast  alterations  in  the  gardens,  undoing  all  that  he  has  been 
at  vast  expense  doing,  for  a  great  many  years  past.  He  is  now  work- 
ing hard  to  carry  water  almost  round  them,  and  by  his  plan,  when 
finished,  the  voyage  will  be  a  mile  and  a  half.  I  own  'twill  be  very 
fine,  but  'twill  make  the  enclosure  so  very  large,  and  so  great  an  ex- 
pense, that  I  should  rather  have  turned  my  thoughts  and  employed  my 
money  in  building  offices,  etc.,  to  the  front  of  the  house,  which  being 
one  of  the  noblest  in  the  world,  'tis  pity  everything  about  it  should  not 
be  proportionally  fine,  and  in  the  same  good  taste. 

I  saw  several  other  seats  in  my  tour,  but  I  must  say,  take  all  to- 
gether, no  one  I  ever  yet  was  at  is  in  my  opinion  equal  to  Castle 
Howard,  which  I  am  told  improves  in  beauty  every  day,  and  that  the 
mausoleum  begins  to  have  a  very  magnificent  appearance. 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1732,  23  Dec.,  Albemarle  Street. — The  Duke  of  Norfolk  died  at 
two  this  morn  ;  it  is  currently  reported  he  was  poisoned  by  the 
Jesuits  some  months  since,  on  account  of  his  having  made  some  de- 
clarations that  carried  the  appearance  as  if  he  intended  to  turn  Pro- 
testant. Let  that  be  as  it  will,  his  case  entirely  puzzled  the  doctors, 

1  Now  Lord  Braybrooke's  seat. 
8  Wanstead,  Essex.     This  once  famous  mansion  has  been  demolished. 


12  THE   ANCESTOR 

and  was  indeed  a  very  extraordinary  one  ;  he  suffered  as  much  pain  as 
'twas  possible  for  any  mortal  to  undergo  for  several  weeks  before  his 
death. 

COL.  THE  HON.  CHARLES  HOWARD  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1733],  3  May. — I  forgot  to  tell  my  sister  Mary,  last  post,  Lord 
William  Hamilton  had  run  away  with  Miss  Hawes1  ;  they  were 
married  without  their  relations  knowing  anything  of  it.  She  is  a 
pretty  young  woman,  but  without  a  shilling ;  and  what's  worse,  her 
father  has  not  much  in  his  power  to  give  her,  if  he  is  reconciled.  .  .  . 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  LORD  CARLISLE,  AT  CASTLE  HOWARD 

1734,  6  June,  Wentworth  House.2 — I  have  been  here  since  Mon- 
day, and  shall  proceed  forward  on  my  journey  this  day.  Lord  and 
Lady  StrafFord  called  here  yesterday  in  their  way  home.  Lady  Mai- 
ton  has  desired  me  to  acquaint  your  Lordship  of  it,  and  that  they  shall 
now  expect  you  and  the  Ladies  at  Wentworth  House  very  soon  ;  her 
Ladyship  desires  Lady  Mary  will  excuse  her  not  writing,  as  I  write 
this  post  to  Castle  Howard. 

I  can't  quit  this  country  without  saying  something  of  Stainbro' 3 
and  this  place.  The  first  is  finely  situated  and  has  the  prospect  of  a 
pretty  enclosed  country  ;  the  new  castle  just  finished  has  an  extreme 
fine  situation,  and  built  entirely  in  the  old  castle  style,  but  the  room  I 
believe  will  be  thought  too  little  ;  the  gallery  in  the  house  answered 
my  expectations  less  than  any  room  I  ever  heard  talked  of  in  my  life, 
it  being  out  of  all  proportion  and  lighted  like  a  green-house,  and  no 
taste  in  the  finishing  ;  the  four  marble  columns  in  it  are  indeed  for 
their  size  very  great  curiosities  ;  the  park  lays  very  prettily  round  the 
gardens,  and  ridings  cut  out  in  woods  which  surround  the  park,  and 
which  are  very  handsomely  disposed. 

If  in  some  things  Lord  Strafford's  fell  short  of  what  I  was  told  of 
it,  I  was  very  agreeably  surprised  in  finding  this  place  improved  in  all 
respects  since  I  was  last  here  infinitely  beyond  my  expectations. 
What  may  properly  be  called  the  house  is  about  the  same  length  in 
front  as  Lord  Tilney's4  (260  feet);  that  front  towards  the  garden 
is  entirely  finished,  being  partly  patch-work  of  the  old  house  and 
partly  a  new  building,  and  excepting  a  very  fine  library,  little  can  be 
said  in  its  praise,  but  when  you  come  to  the  court  front,  amends  will 
be  sufficiently  made  to  all  lovers  of  architecture,  and  when  finished 
'twill  be  a  stupendous  fabric,  infinitely  superior  to  anything  we  have 
now  in  England  ;  the  front  of  the  house  and  offices  (exclusive  of  the 

1  Daughter  and  '  heir '  of  Francis  Hawes,  Esq.,  of  Parley. 
3  Lord  Fitzwilliam's  seat. 

3  Wentworth  Castle,  Stainborough,  Yorks. 

4  Wanstead. 


MRS.  SHERIDAN  (Miss  LINI.KY)  AS  ST.  CECILIA. 

Sir  Joshua  Reynolds. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  13 

stables)  being  a  line  of  606  feet  built  of  the  most  beautiful  hewn  stone 
and  the  best  masonry  I  ever  saw  ;  these  offices  on  each  side  of  the 
house  are  entirely  finished.  The  upright  of  the  house  will  be  in  the 
same  style  as  Lord  Tilney's,  only  this  portico  will  have  eight  columns 
in  front. 

The  hall  will  be  64  feet  by  53  deep  and  48  high,  a  prodigious 
room ;  on  each  side  of  it  are  three  rooms,  all  six  24  high  ;  two  of 
them  will  be  36  feet  square,  two  26  in  front  and  38  deep,  and  two  24 
in  front  and  36  deep.  This  whole  front  will  contain  twenty-one 
windows,  five  of  which  are  now  just  covered  in.  The  whole  finish- 
ing will  be  entirely  submitted  to  Lord  Burlington,  and  I  know  of  no 
subject's  house  in  Europe  [which]  will  have  seven  such  magnificent 
rooms  so  finely  proportioned  as  these  will  be.  This  part  of  the  house 
will  be  built  entirely  new  from  the  foundations,  and  very  conveniently 
disposed  to  lay  it  to  the  old  house  ;  and  as  Lord  Tilney's  has  hitherto 
been  thought  so  fine  [a]  house,  as  some  people  imagined  would  never 
have  been  excelled,  I  am  very  glad  for  the  honour  of  Yorkshire  to  see  a 
pile  going  forward  here  that  will  in  every  respect  infinitely  exceed  it. 
The  outworks  are  also  large,  and  my  Lord  has  a  very  fine  command 
of  wood  and  water  ;  but  none  of  the  finishing  strokes  which  give  the 
beauty  to  the  whole  are  yet  completed. 

As  it  is  impossible  in  one  place  or  country  to  have  everything,  I 
must  now  acquaint  your  Lordship,  if  the  axle-trees  of  your  coach  are 
not  very  strong,  you  will  find  it  difficult  to  get  thro*  the  country,  the 
roads  being  intolerable,  by  the  vast  number  of  iron-stone  pits,  coal  pits, 
and  woods  in  the  country.  I  have  never  yet  been  out,  but  I  have  met 
carts  and  waggons  overthrown,  for  there  have  been  such  plentiful  rains 
of  late  in  this  country,  that  the  roads  are  almost  as  bad  as  in  winter. 

After  saying  so  much  of  this  place  I  can't  finish  my  letter  without 
speaking  something  of  the  master  and  mistress  of  it,  who  really  live  as 
happily  together,  as  easy  to  those  with  them,  and  with  as  much  hospita- 
lity to  their  neighbours  and  goodness  to  their  children  and  servants  as 
in  any  house  I  ever  was  in.  I  never  spent  six  days  more  agreeably, 
and  am  sorry  to  be  obliged  to  leave  them  so  soon.  When  I  reflect 
how  soon  your  Lordship  will  be  here,  I  beg  pardon  for  taking  up  so 
much  of  your  time  ;  I  desire  my  compliments  to  the  ladies  and  Colonel 
Howard. 

P.S. — The  kitchen  offices  here  are  particularly  worth  seeing,  and 
are  very  noble  ;  and  I  would  recommend  the  apartments  for  the  poul- 
try to  Lady  Irwin's  observation,  where  she  will  find  great  variety  or 
the  feathered  specie[s],  all  magnificently  lodged,  and  well  attended  on. 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1734,  23  December,  Albemarle  Street. — There  is  a  new  taste  in 
gardening  just  arisen,  which  has  been  practised  with  so  great  success 
at  the  Prince's  garden  in  Town,  that  a  general  alteration  of  some  of 

B 


H  THE   ANCESTOR 

the  most  considerable  gardens  in  the  kingdom  is  begun,  after  Mr. 
Kent's  notion  of  gardening,  viz.  to  lay  them  out,  and  work  without 
either  level  or  line.  By  this  means  I  really  think  the  12  acres  the 
Prince's  garden  consists  ot,  is  more  diversified  and  of  greater  variety 
than  anything  of  that  compass  I  ever  saw  ;  and  this  method  of  garden- 
ing is  the  more  agreeable,  as  when  finished,  it  has  the  appearance  or 
beautiful  nature,  and  without  being  told,  one  would  imagine  art  had 
no  part  in  the  finishing,  and  is,  according  to  what  one  hears  of  the 
Chinese,  entirely  after  their  models  for  works  of  this  nature,  where 
they  never  plant  straight  lines  or  make  regular  designs.  The  cele- 
brated gardens  of  Claremount,  Chiswick,  and  Stowe  are  now  full  of 
labourers,  to  modernise  the  expensive  works  finished  in  them,  even 
since  every  one's  memory.  If  this  grows  a  fashion,  'twill  be  happy  for 
that  class  or  the  people,  as  they  will  run  no  risk  of  having  time  lay  on 
their  hands. 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  LORD  CARLISLE 

1736,  2  Dec.,    Albemarle  Street. — Mr.  Lewis,1  of  Hampshire, 
lately  dead,  has  left  his  vast  estate  of  8,ooo/.  a  year  to  his  grandson 
Lord    Plymouth,   a   sickly  minor   of  about  four   years   old,  and    for 
guardians,  Sir  Robert  Walpole,  his  brother  Horace,  Mr.  Baron  For- 
tescue,  and  Dr.  Mead,  with  legacies  to  each  of  3,ooo/.     And   if  my 
Lord  dies  before  twenty-one  years  of  age,  the  whole  estate  to  Sir 
R[obert]  W[alpole]  and  his  heirs.     This  may  prove  a  great  donation, 
and  is  now  the  subject  matter  of  conversation  here. 

SIR  THOMAS  ROBINSON  TO  [LORD  CARLISLE] 

1737,  1 6  April,  Albemarle  Street. — Mr.  Nugent,  who  has  lately 
married   the    widow   Knight  (Mr.   Craggs'   sister2),    who   gave    him 
5o,ooo/.  on  the  day  of  marriage,  the  same  sum  to  her  son,  and  says 
she  has  still  ioo,ooo/.  more  in  her  own  power.  .  .  . 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

1768,  5  Jan. — Lord  Baltimore's  rape,  flight,  and  prosecution  has 
been  the  talk  of  the  town  these  last  few  days,  and  the  papers  have 
related  the  story,  but  how  truly,  I  don't  know3  ;  the  fact  is,  that  a 
warrant  from  Fielding  was  issued  to  apprehend  him,  and  he  has  made 
his  escape  ;  the  girl's  parents  are  Dissenters,  and  in  good  circumstances. 
They  are  determined  to  reject  all  offers  of  composition.  He  is  mad 
certainly,  and  had  a  narrow  escape,  by  a  prank  of  the  same  nature,  as 
I  hear,  at  Constantinople. 

1  Thomas  Lewis  of  Soberton,  Hants.     His  grandson  was  the  fourth  earl. 

2  Compare  Complete  Peerage,  vi.   107.     The  above  extract  suggests   that 
the  marriage  took  place  23  March,  173!,  not  (as  there  given)  1736. 

3  See  Complete  Peerage,  i.  227. 


RICHARD  BKINSI.UY  SHERIDAN. 

By  Sir  Josliiai  Reynolds. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  15 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

1768,  7  Feb. — Sir  Rob[er]t  Rich  has  died  worth  a  hundred 
thousand.  Lady  Rich  has  1,000  jointure  ;  Lady  Lyttleton1  500  for 
life,  so  now  she  has  1,300  to  play  at  flatts  with  ;  Miss  Rich  the  in- 
terest of  10,000  for  her  life  ;  and  he  settles  50,000  on  Lord  L  lawar, 
in  default  of  issue  of  his  son.  Everybody  inquires  if  Menil a  is  to  be 
a  Peer  ;  he  looks,  I  think,  so  happy  and  Peerish,  that  I  suspect  there 
is  something  in  it ;  it  will  not  be  well  digested. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

1768,  26  Feb. — Chetwynd's  father  has  been  dying  this  week,  but 
has  a  respite.  No  Peers  will  be  made  as  yet,  I  believe.  Menil  talks 
to  his  friends  sanguinely,  but  I  think  he  may  be  disappointed.  The 
K[ing]  is  grown  very  averse  to  promotions  of  that  kind  ;  it  is  high 
time  to  be  a  little  chaste  upon  that  point.  In  Ireland  it  is  infamous, 
and  the  more  so,  because  that  Riff  Raff,  with  titles  resembling  our 
own,  desires  to  be  confounded  with  the  nobility  of  this  country,  and 
very  often  are  so.3  It  must  be  such  a  herald  as  myself  to  distinguish 
between  an  Earl  of  Carlisle  and  an  Earl  of  Catherlough,*  the  son  of  a 
Transport. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1774],  30  July. — I  have  demonstrated  to  Sir  G.  Metham  that  I 
[am]  originally  a  Yorkshire  man,  and  that  my  name  is  Salveyne  ;  and 
he  says  that  the  best  Yorkshire  blood  does  at  this  time  run  through 
my  veins,  and  so  I  hope  it  will  for  some  time  before  the  circulation  of 
it  is  stopped. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1775],  7  Oct.,  Saturday  night. — I  returned  from  Luggershall 
yesterday,  a  day  later  than  I  was  in  hopes  to  have  come,  for  I  was 
made  to  believe  that  the  Court  Leet,  which  was  my  object  in  going, 
would  have  been  held  on  Wednesday  ;  however  I  passed  a  day  extra- 
ordinary better  than  I  expected  in  that  beggarly  place.  I  made  an 
acquaintance  with  a  neighbouring  gentleman,  who  has  a  very  good 
estate,  and  a  delightful  old  mansion,  where  I  played  at  whist  and 
supped  on  Wednesday  evening.  He  is  a  descendant  of  the  Speaker 
Smith,  and  son  of  that  Mr.  Ashton  whom  we  saw  at  Trentham,  or 

1  Elizabeth  daughter  of  Sir  Robert  Rich. 
a  Ancestor  of  the  family  of  Meynell-Ingram. 

3  This  is  an  interesting  reference  to  an  old  grievance  of   the  English 
nobility,  Irish  peerage  dignities  being  bestowed  on  Englishmen  who  could 
not  obtain  English  ones. 

4  Robert  Knight,  M.P.  of  Warwickshire,  was  created  Earl  of  Catherlough 
[Carlow]  in  1763. 


1 6  THE   ANCESTOR 

whom  I  saw  there  the  first  time  I  went,  and  who  was  an  evidence 
against  me  at  Oxford  thirty  years  ago — a  sad  rascal ;  but  the  son  is 
un  garfonfort  honnete,  and  he  received  me  with  extraordinary  marks  ot 
civility  and  good  breeding.1 

We  have  the  same  relations,  and  his  house  was  furnished  with 
many  of  their  pictures.  There  was  one  of  a  great  grandmother  of 
mine,  who  was  the  Speaker's  sister,  painted  by  Sir  P.  Lely,  that  was 
one  of  the  best  portraits  I  ever  saw.  I  wish  Sir  J.  Reynolds  had  been 
there  to  have  told  me  why  those  colours  were  so  fine  and  looked  as  if 
they  were  not  dry,  while  all  his  are  as  lamb  (sic)  black  in  comparison 
of  them.  I  am  to  have  a  copy  of  this  picture  next  spring. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1775],  ii  Oct. — They  now  doubt  of  Southwell's  peerage,2  after 
all  the  bustle  in  our  country.  All  the  claimants  for  new  peerages 
oppose  it  with  their  clamours,  as  if  this  was  a  creation,  and  taking  it 
for  granted  that  the  King  is  to  accept  their  interpretations  instead  ot 
his  own.  I  suppose,  if  he  fulfilled  all  his  engagements  upon  that  score, 
there  would  be  an  addition  to  the  House  of  Lords  equal  to  the  present 
number. 

Ergo,  if  I  was  King,  I  should  expunge  the  whole  debt,  and  begin 
sur  nouveaux  fraix.  I  think  that  I  should  have  answer  ready  to  make 
to  my  Minister  against  those  promises.  I  should  tell  him,  if  my 
affairs  required  a  Sir  G.  Hawke  3  or  who[m]  you  please  to  be  made  a 
peer,  it  should  be  down  [done]  sur  le  champ,  but  I  would  not  be  ham- 
pered by  engagements.  G^u'en  pensez-vous,  Seigneur  ? 

ANTHONY  STORER  TO  LORD  CARLISLE 

1781,  1 8  June. — Gibbon  is  to  come  into  Parliament  for  Lyming- 
ton  in  the  room  of  Mr.  Dummer,  who  is  dead  ;  he  left  nothing  to 
either  of  the  Pentons,  who  are  his  nearest  relations,  but  has  left  all  his 
state4  to  Ned  Chamberlayne,  who  acted  for  him  as  his  steward. 

1  This    needs    annotation.     The    '  mansion '    was    at   Tidworth,  which, 
though  adjoining  Ludgershall  (Wilts),  is  on  the  border  of  Wilts  and  Hants. 
Its  owner  was  Mr.  Thomas  Assheton-Smith,  then  some  twenty-three  years  old, 
whose  father,  Thomas  Assheton,  matriculated  at  Brasenose  in  1742  (as  son  of 
Thomas  Assheton  of  Bowden),  being  then  sixteen  (Foster's  Alumni  Oxonienses), 
and  had  assumed  the  additional  name  and  arms  of  Smith,  on   succeeding  to 
the  estates  of  his  maternal  grandfather,  John  Smith,  Speaker  of  the  House  of 
Commons,  temp.  Queen  Anne.     Hence  the  well-known  family  of  Assheton- 
Smith  of  Vaynol. 

2  Edward  Southwell  was  summoned  as  Lord  de  Clifford   17  April,  1776, 
the  abeyance  of  the  barony  being  determined  in  his  favour. 

3  Admiral  Sir  Edward  Hawke  was  created  a  baron  20  May  1776. 

4  The  estates,  valued  at  £18,000  a  year,  were  left  for  life  to  his  widow, 
who  married  Dance  the  painter. 


THOMAS  SHERIDAN. 

SON   OF    RICHARD    BRINSLEY   SHERIDAN. 

By  Gainsborough. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  17 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1781,  June  ?]. — Lord  Portmore's  goods  are  all  seized,  and  a  great 
deal  of  fine  old  china  and  other  things  belonging  to  my  Lady  Dor- 
chester, and  which  probably  the  King  had  given  her,  will  be  sold  next 
week  at  his  house  in  Upper  Grosvenor  Street.1  I  was  in  hopes  that 
that  old  rake  and  jockey  had  contrived  more  comfort  for  the  remainder 
of  his  life.  He  must  be  near  four  score. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1781],  7  Oct.  [Nov.  ?]. — A  new  character  is  coming  on  the 
stage,  and  a  new  point  of  discussion  for  the  lawyers,  for  our  big  wigs, 
for  their  Lordships.  It  is  one  whose  name  I  have  not  in  my  head  at 
this  moment,  an  attorney,  the  son  of  a  baker  in  Kent.  He  now  calls 
himself  Earl  of  Leicester,  of  the  name  of  Sydney,  the  legal  son  of  the 
last  Earl  of  Leicester,  who  died  in  1743.  He  is  the  undoubted  son 
of  that  Earl  of  Leicester's  wife.  It  is  as  little  to  be  doubted  that  he  is 
the  son  of  the  baker  with  whom  she  cohabited  for  some  time.  His 
father,  whether  par  un  esprit  tfequite,  ou  de  prudence,  ou  par  je  ne  sfai 
quelle  raison,  prohibited  his  son  in  his  lifetime  from  offering  such  claims 
as  he  now  sets  forth.  Lord  and  Lady  Leicester  did  not  cohabit  to- 
gether for  some  time,  but  were  not  only  within  the  four  seas,  but  in 
the  same  county,  never  parted  by  any  legal  or  formal  act  whatsoever. 
What  prevents  this  claimant  from  being  the  legal  heir  to  the  late  Lord 
Leicester  of  the  House  of  Sydney,  his  estate,  titles,  etc.  ?  I  shall  be 
able  I  suppose  in  a  short  time  to  tell  you  more  of  this  story.  I  heard 
it  yesterday  only  from  my  nephew  Charles,  who  dined  here.  I  wish 
that  I  had  known  of  it  the  day  before  ;  it  may  be  that  Lord  Lough- 
borough  might  have  said  something  of  the  case.  Voila  du  fil  a  retordre. 
Sir  G.  Young  had  the  estate,  by  what  title  I  know  not.  He  conveyed 
it  away ;  neither  that  [n]or  the  purchase  money  remains  with  him. 
Mrs.  Perry,  one  of  the  coheiresses  of  that  family,  who  now  has  Pens- 
hurst,  loses  her  pretensions  to  it.  All  Sir  Ashton  Lever's  fowls  and 
beasts  must  go  out  of  his  ark  at  Leicester  House.  C'est  une  etrange 
historic,  et  remplie  de  difficultes  et  ffembarras  de  toute  espece? 

1  '  Beau  Colyear'  was  grandson  and  successor  (1730-85)  to  the  first  Earl 
of  Portmore,  who  married  Lady  Dorchester,  the  mistress  of  James  II.,  *  and 
had  by  her  a  good  estate.' 

2  The  above  extract  adds  to  the  information  on  this  episode  in  Complete 
Peerage,  v.  50,  where  Banks  is  cited  for  the  facts.     The  question  was   raised, 
according  to  him,  under  a  writ  of  right  sued  out  by  the  claimant  as  *  Earl  of 
Leicester'   leading  to  a  trial  at  bar,  II    February  1782,  for  Penshurst   place, 
etc.     The  claimant  is  alleged  to  have  failed  on  legal  grounds  other  than  those 
of  his  legitimacy,  which  is  said  not  to  have  been  contested. 

This  case  must  be  carefully  distinguished  from  that  of  the  *  Earl  of  Leices- 
ter '  of  forty  years  later,  who  assumed  that  title,  oddly  enough,  under  similar 


1 8  THE   ANCESTOR 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1781],  4  Dec. — The  Duke  of  Newcastle's]  youngest  son  is  at 
Lisbon  for  his  health,  and  not  likely  to  live.1  What  is  become,  or 
will  become,  of  his  eldest  God  knows.  His  Grace's  pride  has  settled 
everything  upon  Sir  H[enry]  Clinton,  for  the  sake  of  the  name,  and 
Oatlands  is  to  be  sold  and  no  vestiges  left,  or  to  be  left,  of  his  infinite 
obligations  either  to  Lord  Torrington  or  to  the  Pelhams.  He  is 
2OO,OOO/.  in  debt,  and  will,  if  Lord  Lincoln  marries,  of  which  no- 
body doubts,  have  probably  6,ooo/.  a  year  to  pay  in  jointures  to  Lady 
Harrington,  and  Lady  Hertford's  daughters,  and  when  this  and  the 
usual  charge  upon  the  maintenance  of  great  nouses  is  defrayed,  he  will 
leave  nothing  to  Sir  Henry  but  the  expense  of  his  own  monument. 
He  is  a  complete  wretch,  and  no  one  ever  deserved  more  to  be  so. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1782],  29  Jan. — I  have  paid  for  more  claret  drank  in  this  house 
since  I  came  into  it,  than  I  did  in  my  last  for  the  twenty  years  which 
I  inhabited  it,  or  which  had  been  drank  in  this  for  the  fifty  years  that 
it  has  been  built.  My  father,  and  grandfather,  were  served,  and  eat 
upon  plate,  but  it  was  not  godronned ;  and  they  drank  port,  and 
burned  tallow  candles,  except  when  company  dined  with  them,  which 
made  the  old  Duke  of  Newcastle  say  one  night  to  my  father,  '  Dear 
John,'  as  he  called  him,  '  if  you  will  burn  tallow,  pray  snuff  your 
candles.'  Times  are  more  changed  than  I  thought  that  they  would  be 
in  fifty  years  after  my  decease. 

[GEORGE  SELWYN  TO  LORD  CARLISLE] 

[1782],  7  Feb. — Lord  Falmouth  is  dead  ;  he  has  left  his  widow 
i, 600  a  year  jointure  ;  his  three  bastards  have  30,OOO/.,  that  is  ten 
each,  and  the  eldest,  in  the  House  of  Commons,  all  the  purchases 
which  he  made  as  an  addition  to  the  family  estate  ;  and  this  he  has 
left  to  the  heir-at-law  and  inheritor  of  his  title.  Old  Mrs.  Howard, 
Sir  George's2  mother,  is  dead  also,  and  Lord  Seaforth,  and  as  is  sup- 
posed without  a  Will  ;  if  so,  Lady  C.  M'Kensie3  will  have  for  her 
portion  3O,ooo/. 

circumstances,  as  the  putative  son  of  Lord  Townshend,  of  whose  wife  and  in 
whose  lifetime  he  was  born  (see  Complete  Peerage,  vii.  418). 

To  the  list  of  such  cases  in  the  Peerage  given  in  Complete  Peerage,  i.  211, 
may  now  be  added  that  of  Poulett,  which  has  further  defined  the  law  on  the 
subject. 

1  He  (Lord  John  Pelham  Clinton)  died  this  year,  leaving  only  his   elder 
brother,  Lord  Lincoln,  to  carry  on  the  succession  to  the   dukedom.     Failing 
him  the  earldom  of  Lincoln  would   have  devolved   on   General   Sir  Henry 
Clinton.     But  he  married  next  year. 

2  Gen.  Sir  George  Howard,  K.B.,  Governor  of  Chelsea  Hospital. 

3  Lady  Caroline,  his  daughter.     She  married  Lewis  Drummond,  Comte  de 
Melfort. 


CHARLES  KINNAIRD  SHERIDAN,  IN  THE  SUIT  OF  ARMOUR  HE  WORE 
AT  THE  EGLINTON  TOURNAMENT. 

Artist  »nA->iini>ti. 


FAMILY    HISTORY  19 

[GEORGE  SELYWN]  TO  LADV  CARLISLE 

[1789,  Nov.  ?]  9. — Mr.  Hamilton,  now  Lord  Abercorn,1  but  tou- 
jours  magnifico^  will  have  one  of  his  cousins  a  Lady,  as  if  she  had  been 
an  Earl's  daughter,  and  no  other  of  her  sisters.2  He  will  himself  be 
Due  de  Chatelleraut,  to  which  I  know  that  he  has  no  more  pretensions 
than  I  should  have  to  an  estate  that  an  ancestor  of  mine  had  sold  a 
century  ago. 

1  He  succeeded  his  uncle  as  ninth  earl. 
a  See  note  on  this  in  Complete  Peerage,  i.  4. 


20  THE  ANCESTOR 


BLOHIN  :  HIS  DESCENDANTS  AND  LANDS 


OO  many  points  of  interest  are  suggested 


*v  Jr     r*      k3  by  tne  Domesday  tenant  Blohin,  who  at 
^-  ^-*    **  the  time  of  the  Survey  held  in  Cornwall, 

under  Earl  Mortain,  the  manors  of  Deliau, 
Trefrioc,  Duvenant,  Treveheret,  along  with 
the  manor  of  Treiwal  which  the  earl  had 
taken  from  the  church  of  St.  Michael 
(St.  Michael's  Mount),  that  a  brief  state- 
ment of  them  may  not  be  out  of  place  here.  Among  the 
Cornish  tenants  Blohin  shares  with  Rainald  (de  Valletort)  the 
rare  distinction  of  being  easily  identified  as  the  ancestor  of  a 
family  which  for  several  centuries  occupied  a  prominent  posi- 
tion in  the  county.  His  descendants  in  the  female  line  are 
still  with  us. 

The  Exchequer  Domesday  gives  the  name  as  BLOHIN.  It 
would  doubtless  have  supplied  material  for  a  dissertation  on 
the  inaccuracies  of  transcribers  if  the  cursive  characters  had 
been  used  in  that  record,  for  in  subsequent  history  the  name 
appears  variously  as  Blohiu,  Bloyo  and  Bloyowe.1  How  the 
final  consonant  came  to  be  lost  there  is  no  need  to  inquire. 
The  use  of  capital  letters  in  Domesday  is  decisive  as  to  its 
existence  in  1086  :  the  following  account  will  establish,  it  is 
believed,  beyond  a  doubt  the  identity  of  Blohin  and  Bloyowe. 
Nothing  is  more  difficult  than  to  identify  some  of  the 
Domesday  manors.  One  very  fruitful  method  is  here  sug- 
gested, viz.  to  keep  constantly  in  mind  their  original  grouping 
under  the  several  tenants  ;  to  treat  them  singly  or  etymologi- 
cally  only  leads  to  confusion.  This  has  been  done  with 
disastrous  results,  as  will  presently  be  shown,  in  the  case  of 
Blohin's  manors. 

Blohin's  manors  were  Deliau,  Trefrioc,  Duvenant,  Treve- 
heret and  Treiwal.  If  we  turn  to  the  Feudal  Aids  we  find  that 
in  1303  Alan  Blogiou  (Bloyou)  held  two  of  Mortain's  fees  in 
Treuual  in  the  hundred  of  Penwith  and  two  fees  in  Polrode 

1  Patent  Rolls,  12  Edw.  HI.  and  Close  Rolls,  12  Edw.  II. 


JANE  GEORGIANA,  DUCHESS  OF  SOMERSET. 

From  a  painting  !<y  Frank  Stout. 


BLOHIN  21 

and  Donnant  (Duvenant)  in  the  hundred  of  Trigg,  while 
Henry  Cavel  and  Robert  le  Brun  held  a  fee  each,  as  of  Polrode, 
in  Delionir  and  Delioubol  respectively.  There  is  no  mention 
of  Treveheret  or  Trefrioc.  In  1306  the  assessment  of  the 
aid  states  that  John  Moveron  and  Henry  Trethewy  held  Alan 
Bloyou's  manor  of  Treuial,  while  Alice  Carminow  (Alan 
Bloyou's  granddaughter)  was  liable  for  an  aid  of  ^4  in  respect 
of  the  manors  of  Polrode  and  Donnant.  Cavell  and  Brune 
retained  Delionnir  and  Delioubol.  There  is  still  no  mention 
of  Treveheret  and  Trefrioc.  In  1428  Lady  Haryngton  held 
half  a  fee  in  Treuialle  in  Pen  with,  the  other  half  fee  being  in 
severalties  too  small  to  be  assessable.  Polrode  and  Donnant 
were  also  divided  amongst  seventeen  different  persons  and 
returned  nothing.  Treveheret  and  Trefrioc  are  still  absent 
from  the  roll.  The  problem  is  to  discover  what  has  become 
of  them.  It  is  certainly  remarkable  that  Sir  John  Maclean, 
who  discussed  both  Trefrioc  or  Trefreak  and  Polrode  at  great 
length  in  his  History  of  Trigg  Minor,  and  who  had  ample  data 
in  his  possession  to  have  enabled  him  to  overcome  the  difficulty, 
should  have  failed  to  discover  Treveheret.  He  had  even  a 
terrier  of  the  Polrode  lands  before  him,  and  was  familiar  with 
every  homestead  in  Trigg,  and  yet  he  blundered  hopelessly. 
Treating  of  the  manor  of  Trehudreth  in  Blisland  parish,  after 
stating  that  this  manor  is  found  in  Domesday  under  the  name 
of  Trewderet,  held  by  Alnod,  he  proceeds  :  *  In  8  John, 
Hugh  de  St.  Philibert  granted  to  Roger  de  St.  Philibert  and 
his  heirs  the  moiety  of  a  fourth  part  of  a  knight's  fee  in 
Trevidered  ;  and  Alanus  de  Bloyou  died  31  Edw.  I.  seised  of 
a  twelfth  part  of  a  fee  in  Trewythered.'1  His  inconsistency 
lies  in  this,  that  having  rightly  or  wrongly  identified  Trehud- 
reth with  Alnod's  manor  of  Trewderet,  he  should  have  brought 
in  a  totally  different  manor,  viz.  Blohin's  manor  of  Treveheret 
to  illustrate  its  subsequent  history  !  He  would  seem  to  have 
been  in  much  the  same  plight  as  that  familiar  friend  of  our 
childhood  who  had  lost  his  sheep  and  did  not  know  where  to 
find  them.  The  terrier  of  Polrode,  which  he  was  careful  to 
print,2  would  have  solved  the  difficulty  if  he  had  studied  it. 
For  that  terrier  gives,  as  consecutive  items,  Trefreak  and  Tre- 
wetherd  as  members  of  the  manor  of  Polrode?  They  appear  to 

1  Trigg  Minor,  \.  43.  *  Ibid.  iii.  336. 

3  It  is  very  provoking  to  find   Sir  John  Maclean   speaki._~  of  Polrode   as 
having  been  taken  from  St.  Michael  and  given  to  the  earl  (Mortain).     Both 


22  THE   ANCESTOR 

have  been  absorbed  at  some  time  between  1086  and  1303  into 
Polrode.  Not  that  they  were  lost  sight  of  altogether.  In 
1309,  when  there  was  an  assignment  of  dower  to  Joan  the 
widow  of  Alan  Bloihou,  we  find1  that  she  had  inter  alia  a 
knight's  fee  in  Delyamur  and  Neivalle  (Deliomure  and  New- 
hall),  a  knight's  fee  in  Donaunt  Chapel  and  one  twelfth  of  a 
knight's  fee  in  Trewytbred.  Both  Trefreak  and  Trewythred  (or 
Trewethert)  were  situated  in  Endellim  parish,  where  there  are 
still  farmhouses  bearing  those  names.  As  illustrating  the 
futility  of  mere  guesswork  and  similarity  of  spelling,  it  is 
worth  while  to  observe  that  the  Rev.  John  Carne,  who  at- 
tempted to  construct  a  complete  list  of  Domesday  identifica- 
tions for  Cornwall,2  suggested  Treverres  in  St.  Just-in-Rose- 
land  as  the  equivalent  of  Treveheret ! 

With  regard  to  the  manor  of  Treiwal  (Treuthal,  Exeter 
Domesday),  Mr.  Carne  was  more  fortunate,  although  Lysons, 
from  whom  he  seems  to  have  borrowed  many  of  his  sugges- 
tions, was  silent  upon  the  subject.  Treiwel  is  Truth  wall,  and 
includes  portions  of  St.  Hilary  and  Ludgvan  parishes.  The 
modern  village  of  Truthwall  is  wholly  in  Ludgvan,  in  which 
parish  I  think  there  can  be  little  doubt  the  manor  house  of  the 
Bloyous  was  situated.  The  assignment  of  dower  above 
referred  to  mentions  Trenorwin  (Trenowin),  Rospegh  (Ros- 
peath),  both  in  Ludgvan  and  Trevabon  (Trevabyn)  in  St. 
Hilary.  These  were  members  of  the  manor  of  Treiwal.  The 
advowson  of  Ludgvan  was  also  vested  in  the  Bloyous.  That 
they  had  a  mansion  in  the  neighbourhood  is  certain,  for  in 
1335  Ralph  Bloiou  had  a  licence  to  crenellate  his  dwelling 
place  at  Tregewell.3  Of  this  mansion  there  are  now  no  traces, 
but  if  it  be  true,  as  is  stated  by  Dr.  Borlase,  that  there  was 
formerly  a  chapel  at  Trewell,  where  Wheal  Fortune  now  is, 
it  would  most  likely  be  there.  On  the  other  hand  it  is  only 
right  to  state  that  the  grant  of  a  market  weekly  to  Ralph 


the  Exeter  and  Exchequer  Domesdays  state  that  the  earl  held  Polrode  of  St. 
Petrock.  The  present  writer  considers  that  he  ought  to  add  that  while  he 
has  discovered  here  and  there  similar  blemishes  in  it,  he  yields  to  no  one  in 
his  admiration  of  the  diligence  and  ability  which  characterize  Sir  John's 
great  work.  It  was  in  the  History  of  Trigg  Minor  that  the  writer  first  caught 
a  glimpse  of  the  possibilities  which  are  both  the  inspiration  and  the  reward  of 
a  critical  study  of  records. 

1  Close  Rolls,  2  Edw.  II.  p.  143.  2  Journal  of  R.J.C,  i.  53. 

3  Patent  Rolls,  9  Edw.  III. 


A  MOTLEY  FAMILY  FOR i RAIT. 


BLOHIN  23 

Bloyhou  and  his  heirs  *  at  their  manor  of  Marghasyn  (Marao- 
zion,  then  in  St.  Hilary)  and  freewarren  in  all  the  demesne 
lands  of  the  said  manor  of  Treueil  * x  points  rather  to  St. 
Hilary  as  the  seat  of  the  manor. 

Having  now  traced  the  manors  of  Blohin  from  the  Domes- 
day Survey  to  the  beginning  of  the  fourteenth  century,  it  will 
be  convenient  before  dealing  with  the  history  of  the  family  to 
indicate  the  successive  steps  whereby  they  were  alienated. 
Ralph  Bloihou  son  of  Alan,  whose  widow  was  assigned  dower 
in  1309,  was  the  last  male  representative  of  the  family.  He 
left  no  issue,  and  his  two  sisters  Elizabeth  and  Joan  2  became 
his  coheiresses.  The  elder  sister  married  first  Sir  Stephen 
Tinten  and  afterwards  Ralph  Beaupre.  In  28  Edw.  III.  the 
advowson  of  Ludgvan  and  the  manors  of  Tregewal  (Truth- 
wall)  and  Nayscoyk — this  latter  had  doubtless  been  acquired  by 
the  marriage  of  Alan  Bloyhou  to  Johanna  daughter  of  Sir 
Peter  Nanscoyk — were  demised  by  fine 3  by  Robert  de  Loc- 
combe  and  Ralph  Mayndy,  the  proctors  or  trustees  of  Eliza- 
beth, to  Nigel  Loryng,  chivaler,  and  Margaret  his  wife.  That 
this  fine  operated  as  a  real  transfer  is  evident  from  the  Plea 
Rolls,4  for  in  12  Henry  VI.  (1434)  John  Broughten,  armiger, 
sued  Thomas  Carmynowe,  armiger,  and  Edmund  Kendall, 
clerk,  for  the  next  presentation  to  Ludgvan,  stating  that  Eliza- 
beth daughter  of  Alan  Bloyou,  at  that  time  the  wife  of  Ralph 
Beaupelle,  enfeoffed  Nigel  Loryng  in  28  Edw.  III.  John 
Broughton  claimed  as  the  representative  of  Nigel  Loryng,  and 
appears  to  have  won  his  case,  the  defendants  eventually  with- 
drawing from  the  suit.  The  Lady  Haryngton  referred  to 
above,  who  paid  an  aid  for  Treival  in  1428,  was  also  a  descend- 
ant of  Nigel  Loryng,  but  she  had  apparently  no  descendants 
living  in  1434. 

Elizabeth  Bloyou  left  a  daughter  Alice,  who  married  Sir 
Walter  Carminow,  to  whom  she  carried  Polrode.     Sir  Walter 

1  Charter  Rolls,  5  Edw.  III. 

2  Of  Joan's  marriage  and  descendants  I  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  par- 
ticulars.    Maclean  makes  her  the  mother  of  Margery  who   married  Simon 
Berkely.     If  this  be  so,  and  if  his  pedigree  can  be  relied  on,  Joan  Bloyhou's 
descendants  came  to  an  end  in  1426,  when  John  Cheynduit  died  s.p. 

3  Feet  of  Fines,  28  Edw.  III. 

4  Genealogist,  xvii.  245.     According  to  Vivian,  Vis.  oj  Devon,  p.  101,  and 
also  Vis.  of  Beds  (Harl.  Soc.  xxxii.  33),  Margaret  was  the  daughter  of  Ralph 
Beauple  and  Elizabeth  his  wife.     The  pleadinga  are  silent   however  on   this 
point. 


24  THE    ANCESTOR 

Carminow's  descendant,  Jane  Carminow,  married  Thomas  Lord 
Carew,  whose  son  Sir  Edmund  Carew  alienated  the  manor  to 
John  Skewys  in  the  latter  years  of  the  reign  of  King  Henry 
VIII.  With  Polrode  went  Treveheret  and  Donnant,  and  so, 
after  the  lapse  of  five  centuries  and  a  half,  the  lands  granted  by 
the  Conqueror  to  Blohin  were  finally  lost  to  his  family.  It  is, 
however,  a  curious  and  interesting  coincidence  that  a  descend- 
ant of  Blohin,  the  Rev.  A.  T.  Boscawen,  in  virtue  of  his  office 
as  rector  of  Ludgvan,  should  still  find  in  Treiwal  and  its 
people  his  chief  source  of  interest,  and  in  the  improvement  of 
land  and  the  cultivation  of  flowers  at  Ludgvan  an  unfailing 
source  of  pleasure. 

The  materials  at  command  do  not  enable  us  to  construct  a 
pedigree  of  Bloyou  reaching  back  to  the  Domesday  ancestor. 


Alan  Bloyhou,  living  1186 


Henry,  d.s.p.  Ralph,  died   1241 

Alan 
Ralph 

Alan,  died  1305 
| 

Sir  Ralph,  d.s.p.         Elizabeth  =  Sir  Stephen  Johanna 

Tinten 


Alice  =  Sir  Walter  Curminow 

I 
Sir  William 


I  Jj 

Thomas  Walter 

Jane  =  Sir  Thomas,  Lord  Carew  John 

1  I 

*^  Nicholas 

From  whom  the  Pole-Carews 

and  Prideaux-Brunes  Philippe  =  Hugh  Boscawen 


Whether  any  of  the  missing  links  will  be  discovered  in  the 
documents  preserved  in  this  country  or  in  France  it  is 
impossible  to  say.  The  close  connection  however  which  sub- 
sisted between  the  Bloyous  and  St.  Michael's  Mount  and 
between  the  latter  place  and  Mont  St.  Michel  is  worth  bearing 
in  mind  when  a  final  examination  comes  to  be  made.  Mr. 


BLOHIN  2$ 

Round's  *  Notes  on  Anglo-Norman  Genealogy' 1  is  very  sugges- 
tive of  what  may  be  achieved  in  that  direction.  The  authentic 
history  of  the  family,  as  it  stands  at  present,  begins  with  Alan 
Blohihoie,  who  held  seven  fees  in  Cornwall  in  the  year  1187.* 
He  was  succeeded  by  his  son  and  heir  Henry  Bloyou,  who  on 
his  father's  death  paid  relief  for  the  seven  fees  in  1204.  Henry 
Bloyou  left  no  issue.  Upon  his  death  his  brother  Ralph  gave 
sixty  marks  and  a  palfrey  to  have  the  seven  fees.  Ralph 
Bloyou  died  in  1241 3  leaving  a  son  and  heir,  Alan,  who 
married  the  eldest  daughter  of  Henry  de  Bodrugan.  This 
marriage  involved  an  inquiry.  Henry  de  Bodrugan  was 
summoned  before  the  king  to  show  wherefore  he  had  given 
his  eldest  daughter  in  marriage  to  the  son  and  heir  of  Ralph 
Bloyou,  of  whom  he  was  guardian,  the  marriage  in  question 
being  claimed  as  the  right  of  the  Earl  of  Cornwall.  His  plea 
was  that  Ralph  Bloyou  had  given  his  consent  to  their  betrothal 
before  his  death.  An  undated  charter  summarized  in  the 
Catalogue  of  Ancient  Deeds  *  gives  the  confirmation — 

by  Alan  Bloyou  lord  of  Treyudwal,  to  William  de  Brevannek  of  the  release 
made  by  Sir  Ralph  Bloyou  his  father  to  Robert  de  Brevannek  son  of  Clarice,, 
in  frank  marriage  with  Rose,  Ralph's  niece  (rtepte),  of  the  service  Robert  and 
his  ancestors  used  to  do  to  Ralph  and  his  ancestors  for  their  tenement  in  Bre- 
vannek and  Penmeneth,  to  hold  to  the  said  Robert  and  his  heirs  by  the  said 
Rose  by  payment  of  1 2</.  yearly  to  the  said  Ralph  at  Michaelmas  for  all 
service  ;  also  grant  that  the  said  William,  his  heirs  and  assigns,  should  not  be 
required  to  do  suit  of  court  outside  the  manor  of  Treruwal,  nor  should  their 
beasts,  or  distresses,  be  carried  outside  the  said  manor  of  Tregewal. 

From  the  numerous  references  to  Brevannek  and  Penmeneth 
in  the  same  catalogue,  it  appears  that  these  places  were  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Truthwall.  The  exact  locality  is  not  known. 
Alan  Bloyou  was  succeeded  by  Ralph  Bloyou,5  who,  on  the 
death  of  Edmund,  Earl  of  Cornwall  (28  Edw.  I.),  was  found 
holding  six  fees  in  Polrode.  Two  years  later  (1302)  he  had 
the  king's  pardon 6  for  robbery  and  other  trespasses  committed 
against  Henry  de  Bodrugan 7  at  Glasney.  It  is  rather  signifi- 

1   Genealogist,  xvii.  i.  2  Pipe  Roll,  33  Henry  II. 

3  Coram  Rege  Roll,  25  Henry  III. 
*  A  10348. 

5  Sir  John  Maclean  makes  him  the  son  of  Alan  and   gives   his  brothers 
Master  William,  Richard  and  Michael. 
8  Patent  Rolls,  30  Edw.  I. 
7  This  would  be  Henry  Bodrugan,  son  of  Henry  his  cousin-german. 


26  THE   ANCESTOR 

cant  however  that  the  commission  touching  the  assault  on 
Bodrugan  should  have  been  renewed  within  a  fortnight  of 
Bloyou's  pardon,  and  that  the  latter's  death  followed  within  a  few 
months.  That  he  died  in  the  same  or  in  the  following  year  is 
clear,  for  the  Feudal  Aid  of  1303  assesses  Alan  his  son  for  the 
fees  in  Treuual,  Polrode  and  Donnant.  The  words  *  in  cus- 
todia  regis '  in  the  margin  probably  call  attention  to  the  fact 
that  at  the  time  of  the  assessment  Alan  had  not  obtained 
seisin.-'  Alan  Bloyou  died  in  1305,*  leaving  a  son  Ralph,  who 
was  a  minor  at  the  time  of  his  father's  death.  The  custody  of 
his  lands  was  committed  to  Henry  Beaurepeir,2  a  yeoman  of 
Queen  Margaret,  and  the  presentation  of  a  clerk  to  Ludgvan 
was  made  by  the  king  by  reason  of  Alan's  minority  in  1312.* 
Three  years  later  the  king  granted  that  Henry  Beaurepeir  and 
John  de  Stoure,  to  whom  the  former  had  demised  the  custody 
of  Alan's  lands,  should  not  be  harassed  for  waste.4  In  1319 
an  order  was  made  to  the  escheator  to  cause  Ralph  de  Bloyhow 
son  and  heir  of  Alan  de  Bloyhow,  tenant  in  chief  of  the  late 
king,  to  have  seisin  of  his  father's  lands,  as  f  he  had  proved  his 
age  and  done  homage.'  This  Ralph  Bloyou  was  the  last 
tenant  in  chief  of  the  name.  His  career,  as  sketched  out  in 
the  Patent  Rolls,  is  that  of  one  who  not  only  occupied  a  lead- 
ing position  in  the  county  of  Cornwall,  but  who  executed  his 
various  public  offices  with  uncommon  zeal.  In  1333  he  was 
made  a  justice  of  oyer  and  terminer.  Two  years  later  he  was 
in  the  commission  of  the  peace,  crenellated  his  mansion  and 
obtained  the  custody  of  William  Basset's  lands.  Some  years 
previously  he  had  been  given  the  command  of  the  fortlet  of 
St.  Michael's  Mount,  for  in  1338  a  mandate  was  issued  to  him 
to  deliver  up  the  same  to  Reynold  de  Boterels  and  John 
Hamley,  the  sheriff  of  Cornwall.  The  same  year  he  was  ap- 
pointed a  commissioner  of  array  and,  for  the  third  time,  a 
justice  of  oyer  and  terminer.  This  last  commission  was 
attended  with  unfortunate  results.  At  Glyn,6  on  his  way  to 
Lostwithiel,  he  and  his  servants  were  assaulted  by  the  rabble — 
amongst  whom  appear  however  two  men  of  knightly  race,  John 
and  Henry  Lercedekne — who  carried  away  his  goods  and  pre- 
vented him  from  executing  his  office.  Ralph  Bloyou's  death 
took  place  soon  afterwards,  for  we  find  his  relict  Margery 

1  Inq.  p.m.  34  Edw.  I. 

2  Patent  Rolls,  34  Edw.  I.  3  Ibid.  5  Edw.  II. 

4  Ibid.  8  Edw.  II.  6  Ibid.  12  Edw.  III. 


BLOHIN  27 

named  in  an  assize  roll  of  15  Edw.  III.  (1341-2).  From  his 
sister  Elizabeth,  through  Thomas  Carminow  her  great-grandson, 
are  descended  the  Pole-Carews  and  Prideaux-Brunes,  and 
through  Walter  Carminow,  the  brother  of  Thomas,  the 
Boscawens.1 

THOMAS  TAYLOR. 


1  As  illustrating  the  great  value  of  the  Plea  Rolls  for  genealogical  purposes, 
it  may  be  allowable  to  point  out  that  the  suit  respecting  the  next  presentation 
to  Ludgvan  (12  Henry  VI.)  supplies  no  less  than  five  generations  of  pedigree, 
beginning  with  Alan  Bloyou  who  died  in  1305  (see  Genea/ogisf,  xvii.  245). 
Genealogists  owe  a  large  debt  of  gratitude  to  General  Wrottesley  for  the 
invaluable  series  of  Plea  Rolls  which  he  has  for  so  many  years  contributed  to 
that  excellent  publication. — ED. 


28  THE   ANCESTOR 


A    SALISBURY   FIFTEENTH    CENTURY 
DEATH    REGISTER 

IN  the  muniment  room  of  Salisbury  Cathedral  there  is  a 
collection  of  Registers,  or  Act  Books  as  they  are  called, 
forming  an  almost  complete  series  from  the  early  part  of  the 
thirteenth  century  to  the  present  time.  These  Act  Books 
contain  the  formal  records  of  the  Acts  of  the  Dean  and  Chap- 
ter, and  a  great  part  of  the  contents  is  very  much  alike  in  all 
of  them,  and  consists  of  records  of  admissions  of  canons,  pre- 
sentations to  benefices,  episcopal  visitations  of  the  cathedral, 
and  matters  concerning  the  management  of  the  capitular  es- 
tates and  the  correction  of  vicars  choral,  (for  centuries  the 
vicars  choral  seem  to  have  been  in  a  chronic  state  of  insubor- 
dination and  misbehaviour,)  and  such  like  things.  Each  book 
is  named  after  the  chapter  clerk  who  wrote  it,  and  each  chapter 
clerk  while  conforming  to  the  general  type  has  usually  in  some 
way  managed  to  impress  his  individuality  upon  the  book 
called  by  his  name  by  the  insertion  of  particular  matters  in 
which  he  took  interest  or  which  he  thought  worthy  of  mention 
although  not  such  as  it  was  his  duty  to  record. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  volumes  is  that  kept 
in  the  middle  of  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth  century  by 

*  Johannes   Machon  clericus  Wigornensis  dioceseos  publicus 
Apostolica  et  Imperiali  auctoritatibus  notarius.' 

Every  notary  in  recording  his  official  acts  used  a  special 
device  as  his  '  signum.'  John  Machon  made  use  of  the  two 

*  signa  '  shown  below,  reserving  the  glories  of  the  more  elabo- 
rate device  for  the  attestation  of  the  more  important  docu- 
ments. 

John  Machon's  particular  fancy  was  for  recording  proces- 
sions and  grand  ceremonies,  and  also  for  giving  personal  par- 
ticulars, and  it  was  this  latter  turn  of  mind  that  led  him  to 
anticipate  Cromwell's  order  for  keeping  parish  registers  by 
about  seventy  years,  and  to  keep  a  register  of  the  deaths  of 
persons  connected  with  Salisbury  Cathedral  that  occurred  be- 
tween the  years  1467  and  1475.  ^n  many  cases  tne  w^8  are 


A    SALISBURY  DEATH    REGISTER      29 

set  out  in  full,  and  in  some  cases  the  epitaphs  (all  now  perished) 
and  the  places  of  burial  of  those  whose  deaths  are  recorded. 


In  the  following  transcript  of  Machon's  register  I  have 
translated  most  of  the  original  Latin  and  abridged  the  formal 
parts  of  the  probates,  etc.  ;  the  epitaphs  are  given  verbatim : — 

De  Testamentis  Rubrica  et  probacionibus  testamentorum 
Anno  domini  Millesimo  Quadringentesimo  Sexagesimo  Octauo. 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen  in  the  year  1467  on  the  22nd  day  of  the  month  of 
March  I  Robert  Cothe  Chaplain  being  of  sound  mind,  (praise  to  the  Most  High,) 
yet  fearing  death  to  be  near,  make  my  will  as  follows.  First  I  bequeath  my  soul 
to  almighty  God  the  blessed  Mary  and  all  his  saints,  and  my  body  to  be  de- 
cently buried  with  lights  the  tolling  of  bells  and  other  things  usual  before  the 
image  of  the  blessed  Virgin  Mary  adjoining  and  over  the  Western  doors  of  the 
Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury.  And  I  direct  that  every  Canon  Residentiary 
present  at  my  funeral  and  at  mass  shall  have  I2d.  and  every  non-residentiary 
Sd.  Each  Vicar  and  other  Chaplains  of  Chantries  in  the  aforesaid  Church  who 
are  not  Vicars  who  shall  be  present  as  aforesaid  6d.  and  each  chorister  2d.  Item, 
after  the  payment  of  my  funeral  expenses  and  debts  I  leave  (if  it  can  conveniently 
be  done)  10  marks  for  a  veil  for  the  high  altar  of  the  said  church.  Item,  I  leave 
to  the  fabric  of  the  parish  church  of  Criddade  2OJ.  and  I  ordain  and  desire  that 
my  breviary  with  notes  which  is  in  the  chapel  of  Lord  Walter  Hungreford  shall 
remain  there  for  the  use  of  the  chaplains  thereof,  my  other  breviary  which  was 
given  to  me  by  Laurence  chaplain  in  the  said  church  I  give  again  and  bequeath 
to  him.  Moreover  I  leave  to  Thomas  Bowyer  clerk  of  the  said  chapel  of  Lord 


30  THE   ANCESTOR 

Walter  Hungerford  one  book  of  grammar.  The  rest  of  my  goods  not  before  be- 
queathed and  disposed  of  I  commit  in  all  ways  and  by  all  means  to  the  disposal 
and  discretion  of  that  careful  faithful  and  honest  man  Master  William  Crowton 
whom  I  make  constitute  and  appoint  the  executor  of  my  will.  Witnessed  by 
Master  William  Cook  official  of  the  Dean  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury 
and  John  Hayton  the  aforesaid  Laurence  and  Thomas  Botton  Chaplains,  Thomas 
Bowyer  literate  and  Agnes  Baleston  of  the  city  of  new  Salisbury.  Dated  as  above. 

Proved  in  the  presence  of  Richard  Whitby  Treasurer  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Salisbury  Locum  tenens  of  the  Dean  of  Salisbury  the  I3th  July  1468 
and  Administration  Granted  to  the  sd  William  Crowton,  etc . 

Epithaphium  ipsius  domini  Roberti  tumulati  extra  valuas  occidentales 
ecclesie  Saresbiriensis  sic  sculptum. 

Orate  pro  anima  domini  Roberti  Coth  qui  primo  fuit  chorista  deinde  Vicar- 
ius  huius  ecclesie  et  tandem  vnus  Capellanorum  Walteri  domini  Hungerford 
qui  obiit  xxiido  die  Martii  anno  domini  M°CCCC  sexagesimo  septimo,  cuius  anime 
propicietur  deus.  Amen. 

Memorandum  that  on  the  3rd  of  November  1468  Robert  Dier  gatekeeper  of 
the  Close  of  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury  made  his  last  will 
and  testament  and  on  the  5th  day  of  the  same  month  vizt.  on  Saturday  the  vigil 
of  St.  Leonard  died  (diem  suum  clausit  extremum)  in  the  said  Close.  And  on 
the  Monday  following  his  body  was  buried  in  the  Churchyard  before  the  small 
north  door  of  the  same  church. 

The  will  of  Roberti  Dyer  the  above  named  Gatekeeper  of  the  Close  was  proved 
before  the  Venerable  Master  Richard  Whitby  Bachelor  of  Canon  and  Civil  Law 
Treasurer  of  the  Cathedral  and  Locum  tenens  of  the  Dean  (in  remotis  agentis) 
then  president  of  the  Chapter  on  the  8th  day  of  November  1468  and  administra- 
tion was  granted  to  Edith  Smyth  and  the  executors. 

Memorandum  that  John  Goldryng  sometime  Vicar  Choral  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Salisbury  died  within  the  Close  on  the  l6th  day  of  March  A.D.  1468 
and  was  buried  within  the  said  church  at  the  end  of  the  nave  and  the  north  aisle. 

The  will  of  John  Goldryng  vicar  in  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury  was 
proved  before  Richard  Whitby  etc.  and  administration  was  granted  to  Martin 
the  gatekeeper  and  Robert  Lavyngton  on  the  22nd  day  of  March  1468. 

And  the  said  executors  besides  the  other  things  directed  by  the  testator  gave 
to  the  fabric  of  the  said  church  l$s.  \d.  for  a  place  of  burial  in  the  said  church 
under  a  marble  stone,  and  to  the  use  of  the  said  church  in  the  choir  one  proces- 
sional beginning  on  the  second  leaf  so  that  it  should  for  ever  remain  in 
the  said  church  for  the  centinual  use  of  the  Vicar  of  the  Dean. 

The  body  of  Sir  John  Cooke  sometime  vicar  and  late  subtreasurer  of  the 
Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury  lies  before  the  image  of  the  blessed  Mary  outside 
the  nave  of  the  same  church.  He  died  on  the  22nd  day  of  August  A.D.  1469. 

Memorandum  that  on  the  1 8th  day  of  September  in  the  above  mentioned 
year  the  sixth  year  of  the  Pontificate  or  Coronation  of  our  Most  Holy  Father  and 
Lord  in  Christ  our  Lord  the  Pope  1  Paul  the  2nd  begins. 

1  Peter  Barbo  (Paul  2nd)  had  been  Archdeacon  of  Salisbury.  The  i6th  of 
September  is  generally  given  as  the  day  of  his  coronation. 


A    SALISBURY   DEATH    REGISTER      31 

And  on  the  24th  day  of  the  same  month  and  year  the  third  Indiction  begins. 

A.D.  1470  begins. 
Epitaph  of  Master  Andrew  Holes  Chancellor  of  Salisbury. 

Sub  pede  effigiei. 

Quamuis  putrescam  dando  me  vermibus  escam 
Rursus  came  meum  credo  videre  deum. 

Ad  et  circa  ymaginem. 

Hie  iacet  corpus  magistri  Andree  Holes  decretorum  doctor  quondam  Cancel- 
larii  et  Residenciarii  ecclesie  Saresbiriensis  Archidiaconique  Eboracensis  et  Wel- 
lensis  .  .  .  qui  per  Annos  plures  Procuratoris  Regis  Anglic  in  Romana  Curia 
fungebatur  officio  et  post  suum  a  dicta  Curia  in  Angliam  redditum  ad  custodiam 
priuati  sigilli  Regii  assumptus,  post  exercitium  illius  officii  quasi  per  triennium 
ad  residenciam  in  dicta  ecclesia  prius  tacta  reuersus  est.  Qui  obiit  Die  Primo 
mensis  Aprilis  Anno  domini  Millesimo  ccccm°Lnmo.  Cuius  anima  in  pace  re- 
quiescat.  Amen. 

[From  an  entry  elsewhere  in  Machon's  Register  (f.  xviii.) 
it  appears  that  Andrew  Holes  died  in  his  house  in  the  Close 
called  Ledenhalle  (it  still  bears  the  same  name),  and  was  buried 
in  the  chapel  of  St.  Mary  Magdalene,  which  was  in  the 
northern  bay  of  the  south-east  transept  of  the  cathedral.  He 
was  a  Wykehamist,  and  there  is  a  portrait  of  him  in  the  MS. 
'Life  of  William  of  Wykeham'  at  New  College,  vide  Leach's 
History  of  Winchester  College,  p.  217.] 

Testamentum  Domini  Jo  Godryche  Capellani 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen.  On  the  1st  day  of  August  1470  I  John 
Godryche  being  of  sound  mind  thus  make  my  will.  First  |I  leave  my 
soul  to  Almighty  God  my  Creator  and  my  body  to  holy  burial.  Item 
I  leave  to  the  use  of  the  Church  of  the  blessed  Mary  of  Salisbury  40^. 
Item  I  leave  to  the  Church  of  Mannynford  Browes  6s.  Sd.  Item  I  leave 
to  the  house  of  the  Preaching  Friars  of  Fyssherton  ior.  Item  to  the  house  of 
the  Friars  Minors  within  the  City  of  Salisbury  los.  Item  to  Simon  Stone 
6s.  8d.  Item  I  leave  for  distribution  among  the  poor  and  especially  among  such 
of  them  as  appear  to  be  in  the  greatest  need  IOO.T.  Item  I  leave  to  Master  John 
Goolde  my  breviary  upon  this  condition,  that  at  or  before  his  death  he  shall  be- 
queath it  to  another  priest,  and  so  that  it  shall  be  given  by  way  of  legacy  to  one 
after  another,  and  so  long  as  it  may  last  shall  never  be  sold  nor  alienated  in  any 
other  way  than  under  special  obligation  to  pray  for  the  soul  of  Richard  Smyth- 
ford  the  first  possessor  of  the  same  book  who  left  it  for  such  purpose.  The  rest 
of  my  goods  not  before  bequeathed  I  give  and  bequeath  to  Master  John  Goolde 
to  dispose  of  in  such  way  as  may  seem  to  him  best  and  most  profitable  for  the 
good  of  my  soul.  Dated  the  day  and  year  above  written  in  the  presence  of 
Thomas  Caunt,  parish  priest  in  the  said  Cathedral  Church,  and  Symon  Stone 
literate,  Master  Richard  Topp  LL.B  and  Thomas  Wynne  literate,  witnesses. 

Proved  before  Richard  Whitby  etc  17  August  1470.  Administration 
granted  to  John  Goolde. 


32  THE   ANCESTOR 

Master  Thomas  Estynton  M.  A.  Canon  Residentiary  of  the  Cathedral  Church 
of  Salisbury  died  on  the  3rd  of  January  1470. 

Annus  domini  Millesimus  ccccmus  septuagesimus  primus  Incipit. 

Memorandum  that  on  the  1st  day  of  July  in  the  above  written  year  Gregory 
Thorneton  late  of  Aldewardbury  in  the  County  of  Wilts  Gentleman  having  at 
the  time  of  his  death  divers  goods  in  the  Close  of  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Salisbury  made  his  will  within  the  City  of  Salisbury  and  there  died. 

The  aforesaid  will  was  proved  and  confirmed  before  us  William  Cook  the 
Official  of  the  Reverend  Father  James  Goldwell  Protonotary  Apostolic  Dean  of 
the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury  on  Saint  Anne's  day  1471  and  administration 
was  granted  to  Elizabeth  his  relict  and  executrix. 

Peter  Seynt  John  clerk  of  the  Fabric  of  the  Church  of  Salisbury  went  the 
way  of  all  flesh  at  one  o'clock  in  the  early  morning  of  Friday  the  and  of  August 
A.D.  1471  at  his  usual  house  of  residence  in  the  parish  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr 
in  the  City  of  New  Salisbury. 

A.D.  1473  on  the  9th  day  of  May  in  the  early  morning  Master  William  Cook 
priest  aged  about  eighty  LL.B.  Advocate  of  the  Consistory  Court  of  Salisbury 
died  within  the  Close  of  the  Canons  of  the  Church  of  Salisbury,  whose  body  was 
buried  under  a  great  marble  stone  adjoining  and  opposite  to  the  west  side  of  the 
holy  font  of  baptism  in  the  nave  of  the  said  church  on  the  loth  day  of  the  same 
month  of  May. 

Richard  Southsex  priest  of  the  choir  of  the  Church  of  Salisbury  died  in  the 
Close  on  the  1 5th  day  of  September  and  the  next  day  was  buried  in  the  same 
church. 

Walter  Maschall  the  senior  Altarist  of  the  Chapel  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr 
which  stands  immediately  within  the  entrance  on  the  north  side  of  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  Salisbury,  died  within  the  Close  of  the  said  Church  on  the  igih  of 
January  in  the  year  A.D.  1473  and  his  body  lies  buried  near  the  small  north  door. 

William  Fydion  sometime  Canon  Residentiary  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of 
Salisbury  and  Prebendary  of  the  Prebend  of  Chesingbury  and  Churte  in  the 
same  church  died  overburdened  with  debt  (alieno  ere  nimis  pregrauatus)  on  the 
24th  day  of  January  in  his  accustomed  house  of  residence  within  the  Close  of  the 
said  Cathedral  and  on  the  z6th  day  of  the  same  month  was  buried  in  the  said 
Church. 

[William  Fydion  lived  in  the  house  at  the  extreme  north- 
west angle  of  the  Close,  succeeding  therein  Nicholas  Upton 
the  precentor  and  heraldic  writer  who  built  the  house.  Fyd- 
ion's  name  is  still  to  be  seen  carved  in  relief  on  a  stone  cor- 
nice in  the  house  ;  the  stones  have  been  misplaced,  so  that  it 
now  appears  as  ION  •  W  •  FID.  It  was  the  custom  at  Salis- 
bury that  when  a  canonical  house  became  vacant  for  the 


A    SALISBURY   DEATH    REGISTER      33 

Canons  Residentiary  in  order  of  seniority  to  have  the  option 
of  removing  to  it.  Upon  Fydion's  death  Richard  Whitby 
announced  his  intention  of  taking  his  house.  On  the  next 
day,  5  February,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  chapter  to  decide 
who  should  have  Whitby's  house.  Among  the  canons  was 
one  William  Nessingwike,  the  sub-dean,  a  quarrelsome  man 
of  not  very  good  character.  When  the  canons  met  *  Adstatim 
erexit  se  M.  Willelmus  Nessingwike,'  and  demanded  that 
Richard  Whitby  should  be  ordered  to  restore  to  their  places 
the  young  trees  which  he  and  his  servants  had  secretly  the 
night  before  dug  up  and  removed  from  the  orchard  of  his 
late  house  to  that  of  the  one  in  which  he  was  going  to  live. 
An  order  for  the  re-transplantation  of  the  *  arbores  iuvenes ' 
was  made,  and  thereupon  Whitby's  house  was  taken  by  Nes- 
singwike, *  ea  vice  contentus,'  as  John  Machon  notes.  As  all 
this  took  place  early  in  February  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the 
*  arbores  iuvenes'  suffered,  but  Nessingwike  for  once  was 
satisfied.] 

Memorandum  that  on  the  feast  of  St.  Agatha  the  5th  day  of  February  A.D. 
1473  early  in  the  morning  Dominus  Willelmus  Symmes  Chaplain  of  the  parish 
church  of  Homyngton  in  the  diocese  of  Salisbury  died  (e  medio  sublatus  est)  in 
the  vicarage  there. 

Testamentum  Eiusdem. 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen  On  the  5th  day  of  January  1473  I  William  Symmys 
Chaplain  of  the  parish  church  of  Homyngton  in  the  diocese  of  Salisbury  being 
of  perfect  memory  and  sound  in  mind  although  sick  in  body  thus  make  my  will. 
First  I  leave  my  soul  to  Almighty  God  my  Creator  the  blessed  Mary  and  all  his 
saints  and  my  body  to  be  buried  in  the  aforesaid  church  of  Homyngton  before 
the  crucifix  there.  Item  I  leave  to  the  fabric  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salis- 
bury 6s.  Sd.  Item  to  the  church  of  Homyngton  one  pair  of  vestments.  Item 
to  the  parish  church  of  Nethenewton  2od.  Item  to  the  Friars  minors  of  Salis- 
bury 3/.  ^d.  Item  to  the  preaching  Friars  of  Fisherton  y.  4^.  Item  to  each 
married  man  and  woman  of  my  parish  4^.  Item  to  each  unmarried  man  and 
woman  2d.  Item  to  each  child  of  my  parish  id.  Item  to  each  of  my  godsons 
6s.  8d.  Item  to  William  Ranedolf  for  prayers  for  my  soul  and  the  souls  of  my 
parents  6s.  8d.  Item  to  Edward  Symmes  my  kinsman  I  mark  together  with  six 
silver  spoons  and  three  bowls  two  basins  and  four  candlesticks  of  laton.  Item  I 
leave  for  the  repair  of  the  king's  highway  adjoining  Homyngton  bridge  3*.  ^d. 
Item  to  John  Hibard  my  patron  2os.  Item  to  William  the  Prior  of  Mayden- 
bradley  my  godson  4OJ.,  of  which  he  is  to  give  I2d.  to  each  canon  of  his  priory 
for  prayers  for  my  soul  and  for  the  souls  of  all  the  faithful  departed.  Item  I 
leave  to  the  church  of  Homyngton  one  cow  for  the  supply  and  annual  renewal 
of  the  paschal  wax.  The  rest  of  all  my  goods  not  before  bequeathed,  after  the 
payment  of  my  debts  and  legacies,  I  wish  to  be  distributed  among  the  poor  that 
are  most  in  want,  and  bedridden,  and  for  other  pious  uses  for  the  good  of  my 
soul  and  those  of  my  parents,  and  for  the  souls  of  those  for  whom  I  am  in  duty 


34  THE   ANCESTOR 

bound  to  pray,  and  for  the  souls  of  all  the  faithful  departed,  at  the  discretion  of 
my  executors,  whom  I  here  nominate  create  ordain  make  and  constitute  vizt. 
John  Granger  and  William  Hyll  Dated  at  Homyngton  aforesaid  the  day  and  year 
above  written. 

Proved  before  Thomas  Hawkyns  Precentor  and  William  Nessingwike  canons 
Residentiary  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  Salisbury  etc. 

Annus  domini  millesimus  ccccmusbcxmusQuartus  Incipit. 

On  the  i6th  of  May  in  the  year  last  above  written,  that  is  on  the  Monday  next 
before  Ascension  Day,  Thomas  Yong  one  of  the  Vicars  Choral  died  in  the  Close 
of  the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Salisbury,  and  on  the 
following  day  his  body  was  buried  in  the  burial  ground  of  the  same  church 
before  the  east  side  of  the  Cross  therein  commonly  called  Saint  Thomas  of  Can- 
terbury's Cross. 

Memorandum  that  on  the  27th  of  July  in  the  year  1474  within  the  Close  of 
the  Canons  of  the  Cathedral  Church  of  the  Blessed  Mary  of  Salisbury  Master 
John  Cranburn,  priest  LL.B  and  Canon  Residentiary  of  Salisbury  Cathedral  and 
Prebendary  of  the  Prebend  of  Husseborn  and  Burbach  in  the  same,  died  in  his 
usual  house  of  residence  there,  and  on  Friday  the  2Qth  day  of  the  same  month 
his  body  was  buried  in  the  nave  of  the  aforesaid  Cathedral. 

William  Stapull  one  of  the  Vicars  Choral  of  the  said  Cathedral  died  on  the 
24th  day  of  September  in  the  above  named  year  in  his  usual  dwelling  house 
within  the  said  Close,  and  his  body  is  buried  in  the  said  Church  before  the  gate 
of  the  Chapel  of  St.  Margaret.  ^  | 

Richard  White  one  of  the  two  chaplains  of  the  perpetual  chantry  for  the  soul 
of  Robert  Godmanston  founded  in  the  parish  Church  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr 
in  the  City  of  New  Salisbury  went  the  way  of  all  flesh,  in  his  accustomed  dwelling 
house  adjoining  the  churchyard  there,  on  the  loth  day  of  November  in  the  above 
named  year,  and  afterwards  his  body  was  buried  in  the  said  parish  church. 

Tenor  Testamenti  ipsius  domini  Ricardi  Whyte 
Capellani  Cantarie  Robert!  Godmanston. 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen  On  the1 14th  day  of  November  A.D.  1474 1  Richard 
Whyte  one  of  the  Chaunters  of  the  Chantry  of  Robert  Godmanston  founded  in 
the  parish  church  of  St.  Thomas  the  Martyr  Salisbury  being  of  sound  mind  and 
good  memory  thus  make  my  will.  First  I  leave  my  soul  to  almighty  God  the 
blessed  Mary  and  all  the  saints,  and  my  body  to  be  buried  in  the  aforesaid  church 
of  St.  Thomas  before  the  altar  of  St.  Bartholomew,  and  to  be  there  covered  with 
a  marble  stone.  Item  I  leave  to  the  fabric  of  Salisbury  Cathedral  izd.  Item 
I  leave  to  the  fabric  of  the  aforesaid  church  of  St.  Thomas  2Os.  Item  I  leave  to 
every  priest  present  at  my  funeral  6d.  Item  I  leave  to  the  fabric  of  the  church 
of  St.  Martin  6d.  Item  I  leave  to  each  of  my  godsons  I2d.  Item  I  leave  to  the 
Master  of  Saint  Nicholas  and  the  community  of  the  said  college  6s.  Sd.  Item  I 
desire  that  upon  the  day  of  my  burial  2or.  may  be  distributed  among  Christ's 

1  The  date  of  the  will  is  four  days  after  the  death  of  the  testator.   October 
should  probably  be  substituted  for  November. 


A    SALISBURY    DEATH    REGISTER      35 

poor.  Item  I  leave  to  John  Bodington  and  his  wife  one  cup  called  Home  orna- 
mented with  silver  and  gold.  Item  I  leave  to  Maurice  Cutteler  6s.  Sd.  Item 
I  leave  to  William  my  boy  and  servant  one  bed  with  its  furniture  and  my  small 
breviary.  The  rest  of  my  goods  not  before  bequeathed  I  give  and  bequeath  to 
William  Shirwode  and  Richard  Charite,  that  they  may  thereout  faithfully  make 
order  and  disposition  for  the  good  of  my  soul  as  shall  seem  to  them  best,  and  I 
make  and  constitute  them  my  true  and  lawful  executors,  and  John  Chaphyn 
supervisor  of  this  present  will.  And  for  the  execution  of  my  will  and  the  trouble 
of  my  executors  and  supervisor  aforesaid  I  bequeath  to  each  of  my  executors  40;. 
and  to  the  aforesaid  supervisor  2os. 

Proved  before  William  Nessingwik  B.C.L.  Canon  Residentiary  and  subdean 
of  the  Cathedral  of  the  blessed  Mary  of  Salisbury  etc.  1 7th  of  November  1474. 

Memorandum  that  upon  the  day  of  the  feast  of  the  Circumcision  of  Our  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  the  first  day  of  the  month  of  January,  being  Sunday,  in  the  year  of 
Our  Lord  Jesus  aforesaid  1474  the  4th  year  and  8th  Indiction  of  our  most  Holy 
Pontiff  Father  in  Christ  and  Lord  Sixtus  the  4th,  by  divine  providence  Pope, 
the  singular  good  master  John  Stretton  LL.D.  Canon  Residentiary  of  the  afore- 
said Cathedral  of  Salisbury  and  Prebendary  of  the  Prebend  of  Chesingbury  and 
Chuet  in  the  same,  made  his  will  written  throughout  by  my  hand  at  his  request 
and  signed  with  his  own  hand  with  full  and  sound  knowledge  and  mind  in  the 
presence  of  me  and  many  other  credible  witnesses,  and  read  through  to  him  then 
and  there  in  the  morning  of  the  same  day.  Teste  me  Jo  Machon  notario  publico 
prefato.  And  on  the  8th  day  of  the  same  month  etc.  as  last  above  mentioned 
in  the  same  place  died  in  the  Catholic  faith. 

A.  R.  MALDEN. 


THE    ANCESTOR 


A  GENEALOGIST'S  KALENDAR  OF 

CHANCERY  SUITS  OF  THE  TIME  OF 

CHARLES  I.1 

FINCHAM  v.  BEDINGFIELD 

Bill  (12  July  1644)  of  Richard  Fincham  of  the  Inner  Temple,  esquire, 
complainant,  against  Robert  Bedingfeild,  D.D.,  and  Anne  his  wife. 

One  Winckfeild  Thirsbye  of  Aswicken  in  Norfolk,  esquire,  being  the 
complainant's  kinsman  and  friend  formerly  propounded  one  Anne 
Thirsbye,  daughter  of  Edmund  Thirsbye  of  Aswicken,  esquire,  to  the 
complainant  for  a  wife.  Edmund  Thirsbye  declared  that  he  could  not 
pay  the  l,ooo/.  portion  of  the  said  Anne  during  the  life  of  his  fatherjThomas 
Thirsbye,  esquire,  and  the  proposed  marriage  was  broken  off.  Anne  is 
now  wife  to  the  defendant  Robert  Bedingfeild  of  Newton  in  the  Isle 
of  Ely,  D.D.,  and  the  complainant  asks  that  a  diamond  ring  and  pearl 
bracelet  may  be  restored  to  him. 


FURSE  v,  LEERE  and  another 

F-i-    Bill  (19  July  1641)  of  John  Furse  of  Ashburton,  co.  Devon. 
Answer  (21  Oct.  1641)  of  John  Leere  and  John  Furse  of  Brownswell  in  Ash- 
burton. 

Lands  in  Ashburton. 

Furse 


John 


Edmund  Furse  of  John  Furse  of  Alston =Thomasine 

Ashburton,  living  a  younger  brother  died  in  husband's  lifetime 

25  years  since 


Matthew  Furse  John  Furse  the  deft.  John  Leere,  a  son-in- 

died  1 6  years  since  nephew  of  John  law  of  John  Furse  of 

Furse  of  Alston  Alston 


John  Furse  the 
compt. 

1  The  advice  given  us  by  many  of  our  readers  has  been  taken,  and  in 
continuing  this  series  of  chancery  suits  we  have  noted  only  those  which  con- 
tain valuable  genealogical  material.  The  completeness  of  the  series  is  unin- 
jured, seeing  that  each  suit  is  complete  in  itself,  and  the  bulk  of  chancery 
proceedings  is  so  great  that  the  mass  of  them  must  ever  remain  beyond  the 
reach  of  the  genealogist. 


37 


FAIREBANCKE  and  others  v.  DAVENPORT 

Bill  (29  June  1631)  of  Joseph  Fairebancke  of  Kingston-on-Thames, 
co.  Surrey,  gent.,  and  Mary  his  wife,  Robert  Bartlett  the  elder  of  Twickenham, 
yeoman,  and  Robert  Bartlett  an  infant,  son  and  heir  of  Elizabeth  Bartlett  his 
late  wife,  Henry  Osborne  of  Sunbury,  co.  Middlesex,  yeoman,  and  Henry  Os- 
borne  his  son,  an  infant,  son  and  heir  of  Hester  Osborne,  deceased,  complainants 
against  Alice  Davenport  of  London,  widow. 

Stackforde 


Stackforde= Alice 


L        I  ii. 

=  Robert  Stackford  of=  Constance 
I  Moulsey,   co.    Sur- 
I  rey,    yeoman,   died 
I  about  25  years  since 

r  i 


John 


cit.  and  salter  of 
London 


relict 


Joan 

Hester 

Elizabeth 

Matthew 

Stackforde 

Stackford 

Stackforde 

Stackforde 

wife  of 

•wife  of 

wife  of 

marr. 

John 

Henry 

Robert 

about 

Griffyn 

Osborne 

Bartlett 

30  Eliza. 

yeoman 

the  elder 

Will  dat. 

the  elder 

4  Sep.  35 

1 

Eliz. 

Thomas 

Henry 

Robert 

Griffyn 

Osborne 

Bartlett 

the  younger, 

the  younger, 

was  with        Davenport 

child  at  the 

date  of  her 

husband 

Matthew's 

will 


William 
Stackporte 
of  London, 
scrivener 


Mary  Griffyn 
dau.  and  heir, 
wife  of  Joseph 
Fairebanck,  gent. 


FRANCKLIN  v.  NORTON  and  another 

Bill  (28  Jan.  164^)  of  Nicholas  Francklin  of  Lincolns  Inn,  esquire, 
and  Rebecca  his  wife. 

Demurrer  (17  Feb.  164^)  of  Roger  Norton,    John  Norton    and  Thomas 
Talbot. 

Concerning  the  settlement  made  14  June  3  Car.  I.  before  the  complain- 
ant Rebecca's  second  marriage. 

Bonham  Norton  of  Stretton, 
co.  Salop,  esquire,  whose 
wife  Jane  survived  him 


». 

David  Briggs  of  London  =  Rebecca  now  wife: 
merchant,  first  husband      of  (iii.)  Nicholas 
Francklin,  esquire 


•?• 

:  Arthur  Norton  of  Abbotts 

1 

Roger 

John 

Leigh,  co.  Somerset, 

Norton 

Norton 

esquire,  son  and  heir 

38  THE   ANCESTOR 

GRAY  v.  LITTLE  and  another 

G£    Bill  (19  June  1628)  of  Matthew  Gray  of  Farnham,  co.  Essex,  yeoman, 
and  Mercy  his  wife. 

Answer  (20  June  1628)  of  Gregory  Little  of  Ashon  near  Radwinter,  yeoman, 
and  Robert  Andrewes  of  Dabden,  yeoman. 

Concerning  a  loan  of  6o/.  made  by  the  said  Mercy  in  her  widowhood  to 
John  Andrews  her  brother,  late  of  Dunmow,  yeoman. 

Andrews 


John 
Whitinge 
alias 
Andrews 

A  sister  of 
Mercy  Andrews 
married  to  one 
Little 

i; 

.  .  .  Grigg  of=Mei 
Radwinter, 
yeoman 

1           i                1 

cy  Andrews=  Matthew  Gray      .  .  . 
of  Farnham,           Andi 
yeoman 

ews 

now  dead 

Gregory  Little  of 
Ashon,  yeoman 

Robert  Andrews  of 
Debden,  yeoman 

1 


GREATEHEADE  v.  INGRAM 

G-J-    Bill  (8  May  1628)  of  Robert  Greateheade  of  Leeds,  co.  York. 

Answer  (14  June  1628)  of  William  Ingram. 

Concerning  a  sum  of  300^.  which  one  Peter  Marston  put  in  trust  about 
10  years  since  for  the  benefit  of  his  three  children  by  Grace  his  wife. 

Peter  Marston = Grace,  died  about 
of  Leeds  I  4  years  since 


John 


Bridget,  wife  of  John  William 

John  Garnett  Marston  Marston 


GOLDSMYTH  and  another  v.  TAYLOUR 

Gi  Bill  (31  Oct.  1643)  of  Robert  Goldsmyth,  citizen  and  fruiterer  of 
London,  and  Elizabeth,  wife  of  William  Taylour,  vintner,  complainants  against 
the  said  William  Taylour. 

Concerning  the  estate  of  Richard  Lacy,  deceased. 


«• 

Robert  Goldsmyth  =  Mary  Wollsey  Richard  Lacy  =  Elizabeth  =  William  Taylour 

sister  of  Elizabeth  a  very  ill  and 

married  after  the  unkind  husband 

death  of  Richard 
Lacy 


A  GENEALOGIST'S    KALENDAR 


39 


GREENING  v.  DENSLOW  and  another 

IT"  G£    Bill  (23  May  1628)  of  William  Greening  of  Barmton,  co.  Dorset,  yeo- 
man, and  Edith  his  wife. 

Answer  (18  June  1628  at  Bridport)  of  Henry  Denslow  and  William  Wakeley. 
Concerning  a  messuage  and  lands  in  Waldich  co.  Dorset,  which  Richard 
Martyn  of  Pulham,  gent.,  and  Margaret  his  wife,  and  Nicholas  Martyn 
of  Kingston  Russell  and  Elizabeth  his  wife  conveyed  by  deed  dated 
20  June  29  Eliza,  to  Robert  Denslowe  alias  Bayly.  „ 

Robert  Denslowe  alias  Bayly, 
who  made  a  will  in  Feb.  i6o£ 
and  died  z  years  after 

I 


I.  U.      . 

Robert  Lea  =  Agnes  relict  =  John  Denslowe 
and  extrix.  of      alias  Bayly,  died 
Robert  Lea,         about  7  years 
died  about  z        since  s.p. 
years  since 

William    =  Edith  Lea,  married 
Greening       about  5  years  since 


Three  daughters 


Henry  Denslowe 
the  defendant, '  a 
great  recusant 
papist  long  since 
convict  * 


GOULDINGE   V.   GOULDINGE 

Bill  (19  May  1628)  of  Thomas  Gouldinge  of  Darsham,  co.  Suffolk, 

esquire,  and  Frances  Gouldinge  his  sister. 

Answer  (9  June  1628)  and  further  answer  (13  July  1628)  of  Susan  Gouldinge, 

widow. 

Concerning  the  goods  of  Thomas  Gouldinge,  deceased,  late  husband  of 
the  defendant,  who  had  separated  and  lived  away  from  him  until  his 
death.  The  defendant  says  that  the  goods  and  plate  of  her  late  hus- 
band's, which  she  had  away  at  her  parting  from  him  were  not  above  the 
value  of  zoom.  '  There  was  a  bason  and  ewer  of  silver  and  guilt,  one  silver 
and  guilt  salt,  one  silver  and  guilt  bowle,  six  silver  spoones,  a  little  silver 
bason,  a  border,  two  Jewells,  a  goulde  chayne,  three  gounes,  three  petti- 
coates,  foure  kirtles,  foure  wascoates,  five  payre  of  sheetes,  foure  payre  of 
pillowbeares,  five  bordclothes,  three  dozen  of  napkyns,  six  smockes, 
foure  aprons,  six  ruffes,  six  payre  of  cuffes,  six  nightrayles,  six  handker- 

,  cheefs,  eight  crosclothes,  six  quoyfes,  two  hattes,  one  beaver  and  the 

other  felt,  two  table  carpettes  and  a  payre  of  bedd  curtaynes  of  dornex, 
two  ould  fetherbeddes  and  twoe  ould  trunckes  wherein  the  samegoodes 


were. 


L 
Forde=. 


Strangeman=Suzan  the  defendant  =  T  h  o  m  a  s  =. 
gent.  married  about  18  or     Gouldinge, 

19    years    since   to     esquire 
Thomas  Gouldinge 


Johr 


in  Forde  of  Eastham 
gent.,  one  of  the  divers 
children  of  Suzan 


Thomas  Gouldinge 
of  Darsham, 
esquire 


Frances 
Gouldinge 


40  THE   ANCESTOR 

GLOVER  v.  DEE  and  others 

G^y  Bill  (25  Jan.  164!)  of  Frances  Glover  of  Norwich,  widow,  complainant 
against  Arthur  Dee,  esquire,  John  Toolye,  esquire,  and  Rowland  Dee,  mer- 
chant. 

The  complainant  is  relict  and  admix,  of  the  goods  of  Francis  Glover, 
merchant,  who  died  intestate  in  1634  in  the  empire  of  Russia,  being  there 
possessed  of  goods  of  great  value.  Arthur  Dee,  her  father,  being  then  in 
Russia,  hath  possessed  himself  of  these  goods  and  refuses  an  account — 
confederating  with  the  said  Toolye  and  with  Rowland  Dee  his  brother. 


GARWAY  v.  GARWAY 

G  jL    Bill  (22  June  1644)  of  William  Garway  of  London,  draper,  complain- 
ant against  Jonas  Garway. 

Concerning  the  will  dated  Nov.  1634  of  Dame  Elizabeth  Garway. 

\ 

[William]  Garway  =  Elizabeth  [sister  of  Sir  Henry 

I  Anderson,  knight,  alderman  of 
London,  Visit.  London,  1633] 

William  Garway  of  London, 
draper,  deceased,  one  of  the 
sons  of  Dame  Elizabeth 
Garway 


William  Garway  the  compt. 


GRETHURST  v.  CARPENTER  and  others 

G-^g  Bill  (7  June  1632)  of  Thomas  Grethurst  of  Hull,  in  the  parish  of 
Wonershe,  co.  Surrey,  yeoman,  compt.  against  Thomas  Carpenter,  John 
Tyckner,  Philip  a  Streete  and  Thomas  a  Streete,  exors.  of  the  will  of  the  compt.'s 
late  father,  whose  brothers  in  law  the  said  Thomas  Carpenter  and  John  Tyckner 
were. 

Concerning  the  messuage  and  lands  of  Hull  in  Wonershe. 

Thomas  Grethurst  of  Hull  in  Wonershe. 
Will  dated  18  April  1620 


John  Grethurst 
son  and  heir,  a 

I 

Thomas 
Grethurst 

Robert 
Grethurst 

E 

Richard 
Grethurst 

17 

Philip           Christian 
Grethurst 

J< 

minor  at  his 

the  compt. 

father's  death, 

now  dead 

A    GENEALOGISTS   KALENDAR        41 

GOTEHAM  v .  JARMAM 

Bill  (19  June  1632)  of  Andrew  Goteham  of  Newton  Abbott,  co. 
Devon,  clothier,  and  Elizabeth  his  wife,  complainants  against  John  Jarman. 

Concerning  a  deed  dated  in  Feb.  161^  whereby  the  defendant  granted 
to  his  son  William  Jarman  all  his  goods,  delivering  to  the  said  William 
'  one  whistle  and  chayne  of  silver.' 

John  Jarman  of  Cockington, 
mariner,  the  defendant 


I.  H. 

William  Jarman  of  Dartmouth,=  Elizabeth,  cxtrix  of  =  Andrew  Goteham, 
mariner  of  William  Jarman       married  about  6 

years  past 


GELSON  and  another  v.  BROWNE 

GgL  Bill  (24  April  1632)  of  William  Gelson  of  Kirkton  in  Holland,  co. 
Lincoln,  gent.,  and  Anthony  Belton  of  the  same,  yeoman,  exors.  of  William 
Revell  of  Kirkton,  yeoman,  deceased,  complainants  against  William  Browne, 
gent. 

Concerning  the  portion  of  John  Gelson,  son  of  John  Gelson  of  Kirkton, 

deceased. 

L  ii. 

John  Gelson  of  Kirkton  =  Barbara  =  William  Browne  of  Selby  co. 


yeoman.     Will  dated  28 
Feb.  22  Jac.  I. 


York,  gent,  married  about 
6  years  since  and  separated 
about  4  years  since 


John  Gelson  aged  14  St.  Andrew  Gelson 

years  i  May  1631 


G BERING  and  another  v.  EASTOFT 

G^g-  Bill  (4  May  1632)  of  Stockdale  Geering,  citizen  and  merchant  taylor  of 
London  (exor.  of  Nicholas  Geering  his  late  brother,  deceased),  Alexander  Geer- 
ing of  Kingston-on-Hull,  merchant,  Henry  Geering,  clerk,  and  Thomas  Geering 
and  Edward  Headley,  gent.,  and  Dionis  his  wife,  complainants  against  John 
Eastof  t,  esquire. 

Will  of  Alexander  Geering,  deceased,  father  of  the  complainants,  who 
was  seised  of  a  lease  of  the  rectory  of  Winterton,  and  made  a  will  26  Aug. 
1598  whereof  John  Eastof  t,  esquire,  his  brother-in-law  (uncle  to  the 
compts.),  Anthony  Harrison  and  Henry  Asharine  were  named  exors., 
John  Eastoft  alone  proving  the  will.  The  wills  of  the  complainants' 
grandmother  Skerne  and  aunt  Jane  Skerne  are  mentioned. 


THE   ANCESTOR 


Alexander  Geering  of  Winterton 
co.  Lincoln,  gent. 


Peter 

Stockdale 

T  T 

Alexander  Henry 

Tho 

nas 

Nicholas 

Dionis 

Katherine  Jane 

Geering 

Geering 

Geering       Geering 

Geering 

Geering 

Geering 

Geering     Geering 

son  and 

citizen 

who  has       clerk 

served 

died  on  a 

in  ser- 

now 

heir  aged 

and  mer- 

been em- 

for 8  or 

voyage  to 

vice  with 

dead 

not  over 

chant 

ployed  in 

9  years  as 

the  East 

the  Lady 

1  3  years 

taylor 

several 

a  soldier 

Indies 

Sainpole 

at  his 

services 

in  the 

about  8 

until  her 

father's 

abroad 

Low 

or  9  years 

marriage 

death 

Countries 

since,  a 

with 

surgeon 

Edward 

in  the 

Headley 

ship  Unity 

GOODRICKE  v.  THORPE 

Bill  (28  May  1628)  of  Henry  Goodricke  late  of  Thorner,  co.  York, 
esquire,  compt. 

Answer  (18  June  1628)  of  Francis  Thorpe,  esquire. 

Concerning  a  lease  20  Aug.  21  Jac.  I.  of  messuages  and  lands  called 
Rowley  in  Bardsey  made  to  the  compt.  by  Elizabeth  Wise,  widow 


.  . 

Thomas  Wise,  gent.  =  Elizabeth  =  Francis  Thorpe  of 

Gray's  Inn,  esquire 


GODFREY  v.  KERLE 

Bill  (5  Nov.  1627)  of  Richard  Godfrey  of  Kirton,  co.  Devon,  yeoman. 
Answer  (12  June  1628)  of  John  Kerle  and  Amy  Kerle. 


William  Godfrey,  who  purchased,  about  the 
beginning  of  the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  a  mes- 
suage in  Pennell  Street  in  Bridgwater 


Thomas  Godfrey  son  and  heir 
survived  his  father  and  died 
about  10  Eliz. 


John  Godfrey  son  and  heir 
died  about  3  April,  13 
Eliz.  s.p. 


John  Kerle  died 
about  55  years 
since 


John  Kerle 
son  and  heir 


Matthew  =  Amy 

Kerle, 

died 

about  2^ 

years  past 


William  Godfrey  brother 
and  heir  died  c.  10  Jac.  I. 


John  Kerle 
the  defendant 


Richard  Godfrey  son  and  heir 
the  compt. 


A    GENEALOGISTS    KALENDAR 


43 


GROBHAM  v.  ST.  JOHN  and   others 

Bill  (15  May  1633)  of  George  Grobham,  one  of  the  eiors.  of  Sir 
Richard  Grobham,  knight,  deceased,  by  John  Grobham  of  Bromfeild,  his  father 
and  guardian,  the  said  George  being  aged  about  eleven  years. 

Answer  and  demurrer  (  )  of  Sir  John  St.  John,  baronet,  and  Dame 

Margaret  his  wife,  John  Howe  and  George  Howe,  gentlemen,  the  last  three 
being  exors.  of  Sir  Richard  Grobham. 

Concerning  the  will  of  Sir  Richard  Grobham,  kt.,  deceased,  whereof 
John  Grobham  his  brother,  Grace  Grobham  his  sister,  and  the  said  John 
Grobham  of  Bromfeild  and  John  Bampton  were  overseers. 

i.  u. 

Sir  Richard  Grobham  =  Margaret  =  Sir  John  St.  John, 
of  Great  Wishford,  co.  bart.,  married  23 

Wilts,  knight,  died  Oct.  6  Car.  I. 

5  Jul7>  5  Car.  I. 


GILMORE  v.  GILMORE  and  another 

Bill  (9  July  1633)  of  John  Gilmore  the  younger  of  Ford,  co.  Wilts, 
yeoman,  complainant,  against  John  Gilmore  his  father  and  Thomas  Newbery. 
Concerning  a  marriage  settlement. 

John  Gilmore  the  elder 


John  Gilmore  the  younger  =  .  .  .  .  sister  of  William 
Rutland,  gent.  Settlement 
before  marriage  dated  6 
Sep.  19  Jac.  I. 

Joan  one  of  the  daughters 
of  the  compt. 


Joseph  Gilmore,  who 
dwells  with  his  father, 
whose  husbandman 
he  ii 


GILBERT  v.  MANNINGS 

Gi     Bill  (3  Feb.  164^)  of  Alice  Gilbert  of  Newington,  co.  Surrey,  widow. 

Answer  (24  May  1641)  of  Gershon  Manninge. 

Concerning  a  yearly  sum  due  to  the  compt.  as  of  her  jointure  in  the 
manor  of  Marshalles  with  its  lands  in  Maresfield  and  Beddingham, 
co.  Sussex,  whereof  John^Rootes  died  seised. 

u  u. 

John  Roots,  gent,  who  =  Alice  =  .  .  .  Gilbert,  now  dead 
died  many  years  since     I 

!.  ll. 

Nicholas  Rootes  =  Elizabeth  =  Edward  Nuttall 
gent,  now  dead  gent. 


44  THE   ANCESTOR 

GODDEN   V.   GODDEN 

G^f      Bill  (18  April  1644)  of  Thomas  Godden  of  Trottiscliffe,  co.  Kent, 
gent. 

Answer  (18  May  1644)  of  James  Godden,  defendant. 
Concerning  the  defendant's  marriage  settlement. 

Thomas  Godden  of  =  Mary  David  Polhill  of  = 

Trottiscliffe,  gent.     I  Otford,  esquire 


John 


Godden  James  Godden  =  Martha  Polhill,  married 

son  and  heir          6  or  7  years  since  at  her 
father's  house 


GLASCOCKE  v   SLATER  and  another 

G-Jg-    Bill  (27  April  1630)  of  Henry  Glascocke^of  Farneham,  'co.  Essex, 
gent. 

Answer  (5  May  1630)  of  Edmund  Slater  and  George  Jacob. 
Concerning  a  marriage  settlement. 

Henry  Glascocke  of  Farneham = 
co.  Essex,  gent. 


Edmund  Slater  now  of=  Grace  Glascocke 
Stortford,  gent.,  late  a  |  lately  married 
citizen  of  London 


A  child 
lately  born 


GIPPS  v.  GIPPS* 


G-i-     Bill  (21  Nov.  1645)  of  Thomas  Gipps  the   younger  of   London, 
gent.,  and  Mary  his  wife. 

Answer  (29  Nov.  1645)  of  Thomas  Gipps  the  elder  and  Mary  his  wife. 
The  portion  of  the  compt.  who  married  against  his  parents'  will. 

Thomas  Gipps = Mary 


Thomas  Gipps,  late  a  lieutenant = Mary,  married  about 
at  Kinsale  in  Munster  I  6  years  past 


Richard  Gipps  Thomas  Gtpp» 

aged  4  years  aged  iji  years 


A    GENEALOGIST'S    KALENDAR        45 

GOODHALL  v.  GOODHALL  and  others 

G^g-  Bill  (30  Oct.  1645)  of  Mary  Goodhall  of  Kingstowne,  co.  Surrey, 
spinster,  by  Eleanor  Willcocks  of  Kingstowne,  her  guardian,  who  is  relict  and 
extrix.  of  Robert  Willcocks  of  Kingstowne,  gent.,  her  late  guardian. 

Answer  (16  Jan.  164-!)  of  Dorothy  Goodhall,  widow,  and  Robert  Good- 
hall  (defendants  with  Augustine  Welford  and  Robert  Wale). 

John  Goodhall  of  St.  Paul's = Dorothy,  relict,  aged 


in  Bedford  the  elder, 
deceased,  a  woollen  draper 


above  founcore 
years 


Robert  Goodhall  J°hn  Goodhall = Anna  Kempe.     Settlement  be- 

of  London,  fore  marriage  dated  2  July  1623. 

haberdasher          Survived  her  husband  and  made 
a  will  6  Sept.  1634 

Mary  Goodhall 
only  child 


GORGES  v.  STANLEY  and  others 

Bill  (l  June  1646)  of  Sir  Arthur  Gorges  of  Chelsea,  co.  Middlesex, 
knight. 

Answer  (5  Nov.  1646)  of  Elizabeth,  Lady  Stanley,  defendant  with  Charles 
and  James  Stanley,  Dame  Dudley  Lane  and  Susan  Hadnett. 

Concerning  the  will  of  Dame  Elizabeth  Gorges,  widow,  deceaied. 

Sir  Arthur  Gorges,  knight,  made  a  will  =  Elizabeth.    Will  dated 
1 8  May  and  died  Sept.  1625  I    18  July,  1643 


Sir  Arthur  Gorges  of  =  Dame  Elizabeth  Dame  Dudley 

Chelsea,  knight  |  Stanley,  widow  =         Lane,  widow 


Arthur  Gorges       Ferdinando       Gary  Gorget      Elizabeth  Gorget  Charles  Stanley 

a  minor  Gorges  a  daughter  James  Stanley 


46  THE   ANCESTOR 


NOTES    ON   THE   TILES  AT  TEWKESBURY 

ABBEY 

REMAINS  of  the  original  encaustic  tiles  are  to  be  found 
on  the  floor  in  several  parts  of  the  abbey,  the  best 
preserved  being  those  in  the  chapel  of  the  founder  in  the 
north  ambulatory.  The  original  tiles  were  discovered  under 
the  floor  of  the  choir  at  the  time  of  the  restoration  in  1875, 
and  from  these  and  others  then  found  the  present  floor  of 
the  choir  was  designed  by  Godwin  of  Lugwardine.  There 
are  two  interesting  tiles  that  have  not  been  included  in  the 
number  of  those  copied,  the  reason  for  the  omission  being  that 
they  were  not  found  until  after  the  copies  were  made.  One 
of  them  is  to  be  found  in  the  south  ambulatory  on  the  floor 
of  a  fourteenth  century  tomb  supposed  to  be  of  one  of  the 
early  abbots.  It  is  the  coat  of  Nevill  with  a  label  of  three 
pendants,  impaling  the  arms  of  Despenser.  The  other  tile  is 
in  a  recess  on  the  west  side  of  the  Norman  chapel  in  the  south 
transept.  It  is  a  shield  quartering  the  arms  of  Beauchamp, 
Clare,  Monthermer  and  Montague. 

HAL   HALL 


BFAUCHAMP  OF  BERGAVENNY 


THE  IMPERIAL  EAGLE 

47 


BURGHERSH 


BEAUCHAMP  (?) 

48 


EDWARD  THE  CONFESSOR 


ARMS  OF  DESPENSER 


ENGLAND  AND  FRANCE 

60 


ARMS  OF  CORBET  (?) 


ENGLAND 


CLARE 


A  FLEUR  DE  LYS 
u 


A  GRIFFON 


BERKELEY 

(3 


BEAUCHAMP  OF  HOLT  AND  AN  UNCERTAIN  SHIELD 


ARMS    OF    SOMERVILLE    OF    GLOUCESTERSHIRE 


THB  ARMS  ATTRIBUTED  TO  ROBERT  FITZHAMON,  IMPALED  WITH  THI 
CROSS  OF  THE  ABBEY 


NEWBURGH   AND  DESPKHSER 


ARMS  OF  THE  NEWBURGH  EARLS  or  WARWICK,  WITH  THE  BADGE  OF  THE  CHAINED  BBAR 


66 


TILES  MADE  UP  OK  FRAGMENTS  OF  THE  ARMS  OF  DESPENSKR  AND  BEAUCHAMP  WITH  OTHERS 


BEAUCHAMP  OF  HOLT  AND  BEAUCHAMP  OF  POWYCK 


«o 


ARMS  OF  COBHAM  OR  PEYVRE 


E 


TILES   WITH   VARIOUS   DEVICES 


ti 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND1 

THE  ancient  parish  of  Manchester,  with  its  large  area  and 
teeming  population,  is  now  served  by  a  great  number 
of  churches,  I  believe  considerably  more  than  a  hundred  in  all. 
Down  to  a  comparatively  recent  date,  besides  the  town  of 
Manchester  itself,  then  of  limited  extent,  its  streets  and 
houses  clustering  round  the  church  and  college,  it  contained 
the  suburb  of  Salford,  with  its  chapel,  across  the  Irwell,  and  a 
number  of  scattered  rural  hamlets,  several  of  which  also  had 
chapels  of  their  own.  Among  these  was  Stretford.  The 
chapelry  included  two  townships,  Stretford  and  Trafford, 
held  by  the  same  lords  for  so  many  centuries  that  the  former 
boundary  between  them  has  been  disused  and  forgotten. 
Both  were  traversed  by  the  high  road  to  Chester,  and  together 
occupied  the  south-western  corner  of  the  parish,  bounded  on 
the  west  by  the  parishes  of  Eccles  and  Flixton,  on  the  south  by 
the  river  Mersey  and  the  county  of  Chester. 

In  the  last  volume  of  the  Ancestor  mention  was  made  of 
the  Chetham  Society  and  its  contributions  to  local  history. 
Concerned  as  it  has  been  with  two  Counties  Palatine,  the 
Society  has  not  neglected  its  own  headquarters.  Mr.  Har- 
land's  Mamecestre  gave,  in  three  volumes,  a  historical  ac- 
count of  the  town  ;  and  was  followed  by  two  more  volumes 
of  Collectanea  relating  to  Manchester  and  the  neighbourhood. 
From  materials  left  by  Canon  Raines  one  editor  has  compiled 
a  record  of  the  rectors  and  wardens,  another  of  the  fellows  of 
the  Collegiate  Church.  The  Rev.  John  Booker  turned  his 
attention  to  the  chapelries.  Beginning  with  a  history  of 
Blackley,  he  contributed  to  the  society's  publications  a  sketch 
of  Denton,  included  in  a  volume  of  Miscellanies,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  give  the  history  of  Didsbury  and  Chorlton  in  one 
volume,  and  that  of  Birch  in  another.  The  same  good  work 
has  now  been  done  for  Stretford  by  Mr.  Crofton,  in  the  face 

1  A  History  of  the  Ancient  Chapel  of  Stretford,  in  Manchester  Parish,  including 
Sketches  of  the  Township  of  Stretford,  together  with  Notices  of  Local  Families 
and  Persons,  by  H.  T.  Crofton.  3  vols.  Manchester.  Printed  for  the  Chetham 
Society  (new  ser.  xlii.,  xlv.,  li.),  1899-1903. 

65 


66  THE   ANCESTOR 

of  many  difficulties  and  most  serious  interruptions  ;  and  he 
has  given  us  no  less  than  three  volumes  full  of  matter  of  very 
varied  interest. 

In  a  country  like  ours  every  town  and  village  has  its  own 
connection  with  the  past ;  nay,  a  single  house  or  enclosure 
will  often  have  a  history.  Stretford  can  boast,  among  its 
worthies,  the  late  Mr.  John  Rylands,  whose  memory  is  per- 
petuated in  Manchester  by  the  splendid  library  that  bears  his 
name,  and  Thomas  Walker,  author  of  The  Original.  Here  it 
was  that  Brindley  accomplished  his  feat  of  carrying  the  Bridg- 
water  canal  over  a  moss.  Mr.  Crofton  has  added  to  his  history 
copious  extracts  from  parish  registers,  churchwardens'accounts, 
manorial  records,  and  vestry  minutes,  with  an  appendix  of 
copies  or  abstracts  of  many  Trafford  evidences.  His  illus- 
trations include  a  number  of  views  in  the  two  townships, 
several  of  the  Trafford  family  portraits,  and  a  reproduction 
of  an  estate  map  in  sections. 

Of  most  general  interest  however  is  the  history  of  the 
family  of  Trafford,  lords  of  both  Trafford  and  Stretford,  in 
his  last  volume.  The  antiquity  of  this  family  is,  in  Lanca- 
shire, an  article  of  faith.  Nor  is  the  belief  itself  a  matter  of 
yesterday.  Richard  Robinson,  a  quaint  local  poet  of  the 
Elizabethan  age,  in  A  Golden  Mirrour,1  left  a  collection  of 
*  etimologies,'  or  acrostic  verses  of  a  complimentary  character 
upon  the  names  of  knights  and  gentlemen  of  that  country. 
Nowthere  were  many  old  families  then  in  Lancashire — Ashtons, 
Pilkingtons  and  Worsleys ;  Standish,  Molyneux,  and  even 
Stanley.  But  it  is  only  when  Sir  Edmund  Traffbrd's  name  is 
the  subject  of  his  l  vision  '  that  our  poet  chooses  Time  for  his 
interlocutor. 

Now  rise  (quoth  she)  and  turne  thy  face  towards  the  Ocean  sea, 

A  triple  foorded  riuer  shall  direct  thy  ready  way : 

Where  thou  shalt  finde  Antiquitie,  the  maker  of  the  place, 

Whose  name  hath  bene  Tyme  out  of  mynde,  before  the  conquest  was. 

Many  pedigrees  of  the  Traffords  are  extant,  in  manuscript  or 
in  print ;  but  most  of  them  display  certain  features  in  common, 
such  as  dates  and  other  particulars  attached  to  the  earlier 
names,  which  clearly  indicate  a  common  origin.  Compare, 
for  example,  those  printed  by  Corry  and  by  Baines  in  their 
several  Histories  of  Lancashire  with  that  which  has  been 

1  Chetham  Soc.  xxiii. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  67 

erroneously  included  in  Dugdale's  Visitation,  and  with  the 
narrative  pedigree  among  Canon  Raines'  collections  in  the 
Chetham  Library.2  To  remove  all  doubt  as  to  their  source, 
Corry  cites  an  old  pedigree  on  vellum,  which  was  compiled  for 
Sir  Cecil  Trafford  in  the  seventeenth  century.  Nor  need 
we  feel  much  doubt  as  to  the  authorship  of  this  vellum  pedi- 
gree. In  a  manuscript  book  of  Randle  Holme3  maybe  seen, 
under  the  heading  : — 

'  Trafford  of  Trafford.  Collecc'ons  out  of  Auncient  Deeds  and  Evidence  of 
your  house,  Extant  1638,  as  alsoe  out  of  ye  Ancient  Booke  called  the  Blacke  Booke 
of  Trafford,  the  Heralds  Booke,'  etc. 

what  has  every  appearance  of  being  a  first  draft  of  the  earlier 
portion.  The  only  question  is  whether  the  embroidery  which 
embellishes  it  was  the  compiler's  own  work,  or  whether  he 
found  it  ready  to  his  hand  in  this  Black  Book,  a  document  of 
which  neither  the  date  nor  character  has  hitherto  transpired. 
It  *  is  not  known  to  be  now  in  existence,'  is  all  Mr.  Crofton 
can  tell  us  ;  and  inquiries  of  my  own  have  led  to  no  better 
result. 

Randle  Holme  then  (if  it  is  he)  begins  his  pedigree  with 
*  Radulpbus  4  de  Trafford,  D'nus  de  Trafford,  before  ye  Con- 
quest,' described  as  '  a  Thane,  next  in  degree  of  Nobility  to  an 
Alderman,  or  Earle,  and  equall  to  our  Lord  Barons  nowe,  as 
is  Proved  by  Ancient  Tradition '  he  weakly  adds  :  but  '  hee 
had  noe  Surname,  as  most  of  ye  nobility  had  not  in  those 
tymes.'  Further,  on  the  ground  that  his  son  Rafe  had  him- 
self a  son  Robert  at  man's  estate  at  the  conquest,  he  estimates 
that  the  first  Radulphus  must  have  '  florished  in  King  Kanutus 
his  tyme,  about  ye  yeare  1030,  and  died  in  St.  Edward  ye 
Confessor's  tyme.'  The  second  Rafe  and  Robert,  he  finds, 
4  receaved  ye  king's  peace,  and  protection  from  Sir  Hamond 
Mascy,  Baronett  of  Dunham  Mascy,  about  ye  yeare  1080 ' ; 
noting  that  *  there  are  Ancient  deeds  graunted  to  Rafe  sonne 
of  Rafe,  and  Robert  his  son,  by  Sir  Hamond  Mascy,  &  free 
pardon  and  protection,  and  alsoe  ye  Lands  and  bodies  of  one 
Wulfernote  (some  rebell)  :  the  stile  is  without  date,  and  of 
ye  Conqrs  tyme.'  From  Robert  is  traced  the  descent  of  the 

1  Chetham  Soc.  Ixxxviii. 

2  Raines  MS.  xiii.  f.  39. 

3  Harleian  MS.  2077,  f.  292. 

4  Apparently  an  error  for  Ranulpbus,  as  we  shall  see. 


68  THE   ANCESTOR 

Traffords,  of  whose  evidences  further  abstracts  will  be  found 
in  another  of  his  books.1 

Needless  to  say,  in  an  age  of  criticism  a  pedigree  like  this 
has  not  gone  unchallenged.  Mr.  Shirley  2  shook  his  head  over 
what  he  found  in  Baines,  and  assumed  that  the  antiquity  of 
the  family  was  exaggerated — chiefly,  it  would  seem,  because 
the  founder  of  the  house  was  (as  above,  very  inconsistently) 
credited  with  a  surname.  The  anonymous  author  of  The 
Norman  People  in  England  can  do  better  than  that.  Relying 
on  a  statement,  in  the  Testa  de  Nevill,  that  Payn  de  Vilers 
gave  to  Alan  his  son  by  knight  service  the  land  of  Trafford, 
which  Robert  de  Vilers  then  (1212)  held  by  the  same  ser- 
vice, he  announces  triumphantly  that  the  Traffords  were 
really  cadets  of  Vilers,  and  Normans  after  all.  Certainly  it  is 
startling,  at  first  sight,  to  be  confronted  with  such  a  finding 
by  a  Lancashire  jury  in  a  Lancashire  inquisition.  But  a  care- 
ful scrutiny  of  records  shows  that  the  Trafford  with  which  we 
are  concerned  was  never  held  by  knight  service  at  all ;  that  it 
was  held  in  chief,  and  not  of  the  Vilers  barony  ;  and  that  the 
tenant,  at  this  date,  was  not  Robert  de  Vilers,  but  one  Henry 
de  Trafford,  who  was  actually  one  of  the  jurors  on  this  occa- 
sion. Evidently  therefore  there  is  something  wrong.  On 
further  investigation  it  appears  that  the  land  which  Robert 
de  Vilers  held  was,  in  fact,  Treyford  in  Sussex.3 

It  is  a  more  serious  matter  when  Mr.  Round  comes  forward 
to  denounce  our  pedigree  as  a  '  grotesquely  impossible  tale,' 
and  declare  that  l  it  is  shattered  by  Domesday  Book/  * 
Granted  the  thane  is  not  named  in  that  record,  nor  his  son 
either  ;  does  Mr.  Round  find  in  that  proof  positive  that  no 
such  persons  ever  existed  ?  Unfortunately,  of  all  the  hun- 
dreds included  in  the  survey,  none  perhaps  is  so  scurvily 
treated  as  that  in  which  Trafford  lies.  The  hundred  and 
manor  of  Salford,  we  learn,  were  held  by  King  Edward  him- 
self, and  granted  by  the  Conqueror,  with  the  whole  of  the  five 
hundreds  adjacent  between  Ribble  and  Mersey,  to  Roger  of 

i  Karl.  MS.  2112,  f.  133  sqq.JP  '»  • 

1  The  Noble  and  Gentle  Men  of  England  (1859),  P-  IO9-  Misled,  no  doubt,  by 
the  confused  account  in  Baines'  Lancashire,  he  himself  inaccurately  places 
Trafford  in  the  parish  of  Eccles. 

3  Rot.  Curia  Regis,  6  Ric.  I.  (ed.  Palgrave),  12;  Rot.  Hundred.,  210,  213; 
Elwes,  West  Sussex,  241,  242  n  •  Farrer,  Lancashire  Inquests,  i.  (corrigenda). 

*  Peerage  Studies,  f..;  see  also  p.  65. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  69 

Poitou.  At  that  date  (owing  to  his  rebellion,  which  is  matter 
of  history)  they  were  in  the  king's  hand.  Roger  had  enfeoffed 
here  five  knights  (tenants  by  knight  service),  one  of  them, 
perhaps,  to  be  identified  with  the  Gamel  who  held  two 
hides  before  the  Conquest.  Three  thanes  (taint),  not 
named,  held  of  Roger's  demesne.  There  had  formerly  been 
within  the  hundred  twenty-one  berewicks,  held  by  as  many 
thanes  for  as  many  manors.  Of  their  fate  after  the  conquest 
we  have  no  information ;  but  at  the  next  survey,  in  King 
John's  time,  we  read  of  a  number  of  manors  still  held  in 
thanage  (in  tkenagio),  a  fact  which  suggests  that  many  or  all 
of  them  had  been  left  undisturbed.  At  any  rate,  when  one  of 
these  tenants  in  thanage  is  put  forward  by  tradition  as,  not 
merely  successor  in  title,  but  the  lineal  descendant  of  one  of 
King  Edward's  thanes,  I  cannot  myself  see  anything  in  Domes- 
day to  shatter  his  claim.  Indeed  I  should  go  further,  and  say 
that  Domesday,  so  far  as  it  goes,  tells  in  his  favour. 

Now  from  1205,  when  Henry  de  Trafford  paid  his  relief,  to 
the  present  day  there  is  ample  proof  in  public  records  of  the 
main  facts  of  the  pedigree.  Before  him  was  a  Robert  son  of 
Ralph  de  Trafford,  whose  name,  as  a  former  lord  of  Trafford,  is 
found  in  a  pipe  roll  of  Henry  III.,1  but  with  nothing  to  fix  his 
date.  For  other  evidence  we  have  only  certain  copies  of 
ancient  Trafford  charters  to  be  found  in  our  puolic  libraries. 
The  originals  are,  I  am  credibly  informed,  still  in  existence, 
and  in  the  possession  of  the  family.  So  many  points  of  interest 
arise  out  of  these,  so  rich  a  mine  of  information  do  they  pro- 
mise concerning  the  early  history  of  both  Palatinates,2  that  a 
scholarly  edition  of  them  by  competent  hands  would  be  a  real 
boon.  Mr.  Crofton  tells  us  he  has  seen  a  few — only  a  few. 
The  copies  we  have  are  very  unsatisfactory  indeed.  The  pur- 
port of  some  deeds  was  evidently,  in  parts,  unintelligible  alike 
to  Canon  Raines  and  to  Randle  Holme,  to  whom  we  are  in- 
debted for  abstracting  them ;  nor  can  either  of  them  be 
trusted  for  accuracy  in  transcribing  names.  Upon  Canon 
Raines'  work,  his  diligence  and  his  deficiencies,  I  have  com- 
mented elsewhere ; 3  he  may  be  convicted,  for  example,  of  con- 

1  Now  printed  by  Mr.  Farrer  :  Lane.  Inq.  i.  138. 

1  Besides  the  Trafford  and  Stretford  deeds,  Canon  Raines  found  one  impor- 
tant series  relating  to  Barton  and  its  dependencies,  another  to  Croston  and  that 
neighbourhood.  The  Cheshire  deeds  are  less  complete  ;  but  for  elucidating  the 
pedigree  of  Mascy,  for  example,  the  Stretford  charters  are  indispensable. 

3  The  Ancestor^  iv.  206  n. 


70  THE   ANCESTOR 

fusion  at  times  between  the  names  Richard,  Nicholas  and 
Michael.  Randle  Holme's  copies  have  every  note  of  haste. 
Their  versions  however  are  entirely  independent  of  one 
another ;  and  where  they  are  in  agreement,  we  may  feel 
tolerably  secure.  But  not  infrequently  they  differ.  And 
while  we  have  Randle  Holme's  authority  for  some  documents 
not  copied  by  Canon  Raines,  we  have  many  more  copied  only 
by  the  latter. 

What  then  is  the  information  to  be  extracted  from  these 
copies,  such  as  they  are  ?  Briefly,  the  effect  of  the  earliest  is 
as  follows  : — 

1.  Hamund  de  Maci  to  Ralph  son  of  Randolph  and  Robert  his  son  and  their 
heirs.     Grant  of  Wlfernote  (Wlfret  note)  and  his  heirs  (heredes  suos\  to  hold 
freely  of  grantor  and  his  heirs  in  consideration  of  4  marks.     Witnesses  of  this 
agreement  (convencionis)  :    Adam  the   chaplain,  Robert   de  Maci,  Robert   de 
Tattun,  William  de  Tattun,  Matthew  de    Bromhale,  Matthew  de  Mortun 
(Moston),  Roger  son  of  Hamund  de  Maci,  Adam  son  of  Richard,  [Geoffrey  son 
of  Robert  de  Maci,  Robert  Malveisin,]  Geoffrey  son  of  Richard  de  Maci,  Simon 
son  of  Hugh,  William  his  brother,  and  Hugh  de  Maci,  Robert  the  reeve  (preposi- 
tus)  and  Hugh  his  son.1 

2.  Hamund  de  Masci  to  Robert  son  of  Ralph  and  his  heirs.     Grant  of  Wol- 
fernote  (Wolflet  note)  and  his  heirs,  to  hold  of  grantor,  etc.,  in  accordance  with 
his  father's  charter.    Witnesses :  Matthew  de  Bromhall,  Hugh  de  Maci,  Robert 
de  Maci,  Hamund  de  Maci  son  of  Hamund,  Adam?  and  William  his  brethren, 
Peter  Canutus,  Robert  de  Arderne,  Simon  de  Turre,  Richard  son  of  Kospatric, 
William  and  Roger  brethren  of  Sir  Hugh  the  reeve  ( ?),  Hugh  de  Stretford, 
Robert  Fitz  Warin,  Henry  his  brother,  Robert  the  clerk.2 

3.  Hamon  de  Mascy  to  Robert  son  of  Ralph.     Gift  of  one  bovate  of  land  in 
Stretford,  namely  an  eighth  part  of  the  town,  in  fee  and  inheritance,  to  hold  of 
grantor  and  his  heirs  for  his  homage  and  service  and  a  rent  of  ^s.    Witnesses  : 
Adam  son  of  Orm,  Robert  de  Stokeport,  Hugh  de  Dotterie  (Duttone  ?),  Matthew 
de  Bromhale,  Hugh  de  Mascy,  Alan  de  Tattun,  Simon  caenarius,  Hugh  the  baker 
(?),  Hugh  de  Stretford,  Robert  de  Mascy,  Henry  de  Stretford,  Robert  de  Erdene, 
William  (the  shepherd  ?),  Thomas  and  Richard  clerks.3 

4.  Hamon  de  Mascy  to  Henry  son  of  Robert.     Gift,  for  his  homage  and  ser- 
vice, of  one  bovate  of  land  of  grantor's  demesne  in  Asselehe  (Ashleyhay  ?),  which 
Uhtred  held,  namely  a  fourth  part  of  the  town,  to  hold  to  him  and  his  heirs  of 
grantor  and  his  heirs  (with  reservations  concerning  pannage)  at  a  rent  of  3/. 
Witnesses :  Patrick  de  Modburley,  Hugh  de  Mascy,  Richard  de  Kingesley,  Liolf 
de  Twamlawe,  Richard  his  son,  Alan  de  Tatton,  Adam  de  Bromhale,  Adam  de 
Carinton,  William  de  Mascy  clerk,  Henry  de  (Fulsahe  ?),  John  de  Barton, 
Matthew  de  Birches,  Hugh  de  Stretford,  Richard  the  clerk  of  Manchester.* 

5.  Hamon  de  Mascy  to  Henry  son  of  Robert  de  Trafford.     Gift,  for  his 
homage  and  service,  of  one  bovate  of  land  of  grantor's  demesne  in  Stretford, 

P  *  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  87  ;  Harl.  MS.  2112,  f.  137.  The  latter  omits  two  of 
the  witnesses.  2  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  90  ;  Harl.  MS.  21 12,  f.  137. 

3  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  178.  «  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  80-1. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  71 

which  William  son  of  Robert l  held,  to  hold  to  him  and  his  heirs'of  grantor  and 
his  heirs  at  a  rent  of  2s.,  with  quittance  of  the  service  of  a  doomsman,  which  is 
to  be  performed  by  another  tenant.  Witnesses  :  Robert  de  Penulbury,  Adam 
his  son,  Geoffrey  de  Bur[un  ?],  Adam  de  Aston,  Hugh  de  Mascy,  Robert  his  son, 
Alan  de  Taton,  Henry  de  Aston,  Hugh  de  Stretford,  William  de  Radeclive, 
Alexander  de  Pilkinton,  Richard  the  clerk  of  Manchester.8 

6.  Gospatric  de  Cherelton  (on  the  seal,  Chorltun)  to  Henry  son  of  Robert 
son  of  Ralph  de  Traford.     Gift,  for  his  homage  and  service,  of  one  fourth  of 
Cherelton,  to  wit  four  bovates  of  land,  two  which  Randolph  held,  one  which 
Steinuulf  held,  and  one  which  Robert  son  of  Edwin  held,  to  hold  to  him  and  his 
heirs  of  grantor  and  his  heirs  at  a  rent  of  5*.     Witnesses  :  Roger  de  Buron  (Bur- 
tun),  Orm  de  Astun,  Robert  Burun,  Matthew  de  Redich,  William  de  Radecl[ive] 
Roger  de  Middilton,  Adam  de  Buri,  Gilbert  de  Noton,  William  his  son,  Geoffrey 
de  Burun,  Hugh  de  Stretford,  Alexander  de  Pilkinton,  Matthew  de  Glothec, 
Hugh  de  Soreswrth,  Robert  his  brother,  Robert  son  of  Hugh  de  Masci.3 

7.  Elias  son  of  Robert  de  Penelbury  to  Henry  son  of  Robert  son  of  Ralph  de 
Trafford.     Gift,  for  his  homage  and  service,  of  the  whole  land  of  Gildehusestide, 
(metes  and  bounds,)  partaking  in  all  liberties  which  the  free  men  of  Matthew  son 
of  William  his  lord  have  by  charter,  at  a  rent  of  4*.  to  grantor  and  2s.  to  the  said 
lord  and  his  heirs,  who  shall  have  a  right  of  way  to  carry  hay  through  the  said 
land.     Witnesses  :   Richard  son  of  Henry,  Robert  de  Burun,  Richard  de  Pere- 
pont,  William  de  Radeclive,  Alexander  son  of  Gilbert  de  Harewode,  Henry  son 
of  Geoffrey  de  Mamecestre,  Peter  de  Burnhil,  Alexander  de  Pilkinton,  Matthew 
de  Redich,  Hugh  de  Stretford,  Adam  de  Ormeston,  Robert  son  of  Hugh  de 
Mascy,  Richard  the  clerk  of  Manchester.4 

In  the  light  of  this  evidence  I  do  not  think  the  most  im- 
patient critic  will  any  longer  deny  the  existence  of  the  im- 
possible Randolph,  or  refuse  assent  to  the  following  pedigree, 
with  which,  be  it  observed,  Randle  Holme,  when  stripped  of 
his  exuberances,  will  be  found  to  agree. 

Ranulphus 
Radulphus  filius  Ranulphi 

Robertus  filius  Radulphi  de  Trafford 
"•       I 


Henricus  filius  Robert!  Willelmus  filius 

filii  Radulphi  de  Trafford  Robert! 

For  the  rest,  far  be  it  from  me  to  deny  that  Ralph  may 
have  had  a  grant  of  the  king's  pardon  and  peace,  with  protec- 
tion against  Sir  Hamon  de  Mascy,  or  Sir  Ramon's  pardon  and 
protection  against  the  world  at  large,  or  both.  There  were 

1  A  deceased  brother,  I  suppose,  of  the  grantee. 

1  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  177. 

3  Ibid.  89  ;  Harl.  MS.  2112,  f.  I37b  ;  also  copied  by  Kuerden. 

«  Raines  MS.  xxv.  f.  198  ;  Harl.  MS.  2112,  f.  137. 


72  THE    ANCESTOR 

perhaps  additional  particulars,  apocryphal  or  not,  to  be  found 
in  the  Black  Book  or  elsewhere,  in  Randle  Holme's  days ;  but 
his  language  does  awake  in  me  a  suspicion  that  he  read,  or 
thought  he  read,  something  to  that  effect  in  the  first  two 
charters,  which  we  can  only  say  is  not  disclosed  in  his  abstracts 
or  copies  of  them,  nor  in  Canon  Raines'  either.  If  that  was 
so,  the  dates  he  adopted  are  now  explained.  For  No.  I,  as  he 
understood  it,  the  conquest  seemed  an  appropriate  epoch  : 
date  of  the  conquest,  of  course,  1066.  Robert,  mentioned  in 
that  deed,  was  presumably  of  age  ;  his  grandfather  therefore 
must  have  flourished  some  thirty  or  forty  years  earlier.  Sub- 
sequent generations,  no  doubt,  had  to  be  spread  out  rather  in 
order  to  make  all  shipshape  ;  but  no  matter.  It  was  a  good 
way  on  to  a  point  where  his  materials  permitted,  or  required 
exact  chronology.  These  Traffords  were  stout,  long-lived 
men  no  doubt ;  they  could  afford  to  pick  and  choose,  and  were 
in  no  hurry  to  sow  their  wild  oats  and  marry.  With  Henry, 
whose  death  it  places  in  1 200,  the  pedigree  is  only  twenty  years 
out.  But  to  this  subject  we  must  return  later.  As  Mr.  Crofton 
suggests,  a  scrutiny  of  the  original  charter  might  perhaps  help 
us  to  form  at  any  rate  an  opinion  as  to  its  probable  date. 

The  exact  text  of  the  charter  in  question  would,  I  think, 
be  of  interest  also  to  students  of  early  law.  So  far  as  our  in- 
formation goes,  it  suggests  analogies  on  the  one  hand  with 
the  conveyance  of  a  villein  and  his  sequela,  which  is  common 
enough  ;  on  the  other,  with  that  of  the  rent  and  services  of  a 
free  tenant.  It  differs  from  the  latter  by  omitting  all  mention 
of  rents  and  services,  and  purporting  to  convey  a  person  and 
his  issue  ;  while  distinguished  from  the  former  by  the  word 
heredes,  which  may  be  taken  as  material,  being  the  term  appro- 
priate to  a  freeholder,  with  an  estate  of  inheritance,  and  not 
to  servile  tenure.  Later  Henry  de  Trafford  is  found  to  hold 
two  bovates  in  Stretford  under  Mascy.  It  has  occurred  to 
me,  as  a  possible  suggestion,  that  the  same  holding  may  per- 
haps be  the  subject  matter  of  Nos.  3  and  5  ;  and  that  the 
second  bovate  may  represent  a  seigniory,  or  mesne  lordship, 
arising  out  of  Nos.  I  and  2.1 

1  Mr.  Farrer  has  suggested  that  a  certain  Ralph  de  Dunun,  whose  name 
occurs  in  1187-8,  was  a  Trafford,  on  the  ground  that  the  Traffords  are  known 
to  have  been  tenants  in  Dunham  (Lane.  Pipe  Rolls  [addenda],  v.).  Apparently 
he  is  alluding  to  these  Mascy  charters  ;  though  why  he  should  assume  that  they 
necessarily  relate  to  Dunham,  I  do  not  quite  understand.  There  is  no  evidence, 
so  far  as  I  know,  that  the  Traffords  did  hold  land  there. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  73 

Let  us  now  trace  the  descent  a  generation  or  two  further. 
The  family  archives  have  yielded  a  number  of  other  undated 
deeds  to  which  Henry  de  Trafford  is  a  party.  But  at  this 
point  we  can  leave  them,  and  turn  to  public  records. 

1205.  Henry  de  Traford  pays  2Os.  relief  for  half  a  carucate  in  Traford,  and 
has  livery.  His  predecessor  unfortunately  is  not  named.  (Fine  Roll,  7  John, 
m.  10.) 

1212.  Henry  de  Trafford  a  juror  at  the  great  Lancashire  survey.  He  is 
returned  as  holding  4  bovates  in  thanage  (Trafford,  that  is ;  but  the  place  is  not 
here  mentioned),  5  bovates  in  Chorlton  under  Gospatric,  and  2  bovates  in  Stret- 
ford  under  Hamon  de  Maci.  (Knights'  fees,  B.  I,  No.  9.) 

1221.  Richard  son  of  Henry  de  TrafFord  pays  2os.  relief  for  half  a  caru- 
cate in  Trafford,  late  of  his  father,  and  has  livery.  (Fine  Roll,  6  Henry  III.  m.  9.) 

At  about  this  date  Avice  widow  of  Henry  de  Stretford  (Trafford  ?)  is  re- 
turned as  being  in  the  king's  gift.  (Knights'  fees,  as  above  :  see  Farrer,  Lane . 
Inq.  i.  1 29.) 

1246.  Mention  several  times  of  Jordan,  and  once  of  Robert,  brothers  of 
Richard  de  Trafford.  Robert's  name  is  struck  out ;  not,  I  take  it,  to  indicate 
that  it  was  wrong,  but  simply  that  he  was  dismissed  from  the  suit.  (Assize  Roll, 
404,  m.  26,  etc.) 

1272.  Commission  for  an  assize  of  novel  disseisin  between  Henry  de  Trafford 
and  Robert  de  Barlowe  in  Trafford  and  Stretford,  apparently  implying  that 
Richard  was  dead.  (Pat.  I  Edw.  I.  m.  15^.) 

Henry  de  Stratford  (sic)  was  defendant  in  an  assize  in  Stratford,  for  which  a 
similar  commission  issued  in  1265.  (Pat.  49  Henry  III.  m.  15^.) 

1292.  Henry  de  Trafford  sues  to  recover  from  Henry  de  Chaderton  the 
manors  of  Chaderton  and  Foxdenton,  as  heir  of  Richard  his  grandfather,  who 
had  granted  the  same  to  Geoffrey,1  a  younger  son.  (Assize  Roll,  408,  m.  47^.) 

1358.  William  son  of  Robert  de  Radeclif  recovers  a  third  part  of  Edgeworth, 
as  heir  at  law  of  Robert  de  Radeclif  and  Anabilla  his  wife,  daughter  of  Richard 
de  TrafFord,  who  gave  it  to  them  in  frank  marriage.  (Assize  Roll,  438,  m.  yd.) 

We  thus  arrive  at  the  following  pedigree : — 


Henry  de  Trafford= 
paid  relief  1205, 
dead  1221 

-  [?  Avice,  eurrived 
her  husband] 

Richard   de   Trafford=   .  .  .                  Jordan2 
paid  relief  1221,                                         1246 
deadi27z(?),i265(?) 

Robert  a 
1246 

I  1  I 

Henry  de  Trafford  Geoffrey  dc  Chaderton  Anabilla  wife  of 

1272,  dead  1292  dead  1292  Robert  de  Radeclif 


1  Readers  of  the  Ancestor  may  remember  an  account  of  Geoffrey  and  his 
issue,  or  some  of  them,  viii.  86-7. 

a  Probably  to  be  identified  with  Jordan  de  Stretford  and  Robert  de  Stretford, 
who  were  undertenants  of  Richard  de  Trafford  in  Stretford. 


74  THE   ANCESTOR 

The  question  remains  how  this  piece  of  pedigree  is  to  be 
joined  to  that  already  given  above  ;  and  herein  lies  the  one 
serious  difficulty  in  the  history  of  the  Traffords.  We  may 
safely  say  that  the  four  charters,  Nos.  4-7,  belong  to  a  period 
between  1180  and  1220.  If  any  one  of  these  can  be  shown  to 
be  later  than  1205,  then  Henry  son  of  Robert  was  the  Henry 
de  Trafford  who  succeeded  his  father  (or  possibly  his  brother) 
in  7  John.  If  any  one  of  them  can  be  shown  to  be  earlier  than 
that  date,  then  that  was  a  second  Henry,  the  son  (as  Randle 
Holme  supposed),  or  at  any  rate  the  successor  of  Henry  son  of 
Robert.  I  cannot  pretend  to  fix  the  date  of  any  of  them  with 
sufficient  accuracy ;  and  prefer  to  offer  no  opinion  upon  the 
balance  of  probability.1 

Could  the  doubt  be  resolved,  we  should  be  better  able  to 
assign  approximate  dates  to  the  persons  named  in  the  first 
charters.  Richard  de  Trafford  was  of  age  in  1221  :  he  was 
born  therefore  not  later  than  1200 — -possibly  a  good  deal  ear- 
lier. Mr.  Crofton  reports  a  deed  of  1205  to  which  he  was  a 
witness  ;  but  if  he  lived  until  near  the  end  of  King  Henry's 
reign,  his  birth  is  not  likely  to  have  been  much  before  1190. 
Reckoning  from  about  1195,  and  twenty-five  years  to  a  gener- 
ation ;  then,  if  there  was  but  one  Henry,  the  birth  of  Randolph 
would  be  about  1095  ;  if  there  were  two,  about  1070.  Allow 
thirty  years  to  a  generation,  and  the  dates  would  be  1075  and 
1045  respectively.  I  submit,  therefore,  that  we  shall  not  be 
far  wrong  if  we  set  down  the  impossible  Randolph  as  a  real 
person,  probably  a  contemporary  of  the  Conqueror,  born 
somewhere  in  the  latter  half  of  the  eleventh  century  ;  and  the 
date  of  the  earliest  charter  we  have  as  certainly  later  than  1 1 30, 
and  most  probably  belonging  to  the  third  quarter  of  that 
century. 

Another  point  that  has  naturally  attracted  criticism  is  the 
story  attached  to  the  well  known  crest  of  the  Traffords,  the 
thresher  with  his  accompanying  motto.  Among  Hearne's 
Curious  Discourses  will  be  found  one  treating  '  of  the  Anti- 
quity, Variety,  and  Reason  of  Motts,  with  Arms  of  Noblemen 

1  In  4  and  6  John  a  Robert  son  of  Ralph  owed  arrears  of  scutage  (Farrer, 
Lane.  Pipe  Rolls,  153,  159,  179).  No  surname  or  locality  is  attached  to  him,  and 
Mr.  Farrer  has  not  attempted  to  identify  him  with  Trafford  or  any  other  family. 
So  far  as  we  know,  the  Traffords  held  nothing  at  this  time  by  knight  service  ; 
and  one  would  not  expect  to  find  a  tenant  in  thanage  under  the  heading,  de 
finibus  militum. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  75 

and  Gentlemen  in  England,'  by  Mr.  Agarde,  dated  1600 
where  the  legend  is  thus  given  : — 

The  auncyentteste  *  I  know  or  have  read,  is  that  of  Trafords  or  Trafard  in 
Lancashire,  whose  arms  a  are  a  labouring  man  with  a  flayle  in  his  hand  threshinge, 
and  this  written  mott, 

Now  thus, 

which  they  say  came  by  this  occasion  :  that  he,  and  other  gentlemen,  opposing 
themselves  against  some  Normans,  who  came  to  invade  them ;  this  Traford 
dyd  them  much  hurte,  and  kepte  the  passages  against  them.  But  that  at  length 
the  Normans  having  passed  the  ryver,  came  sodenlye  upon  him,  and  then  he  dis- 
guising himselfe,  went  into  his  barne,  and  was  threshing  when  they  entered,  yet 
beinge  knowen  by  some  of  them,  and  demanded  why  he  so  abased  himself,  an- 
swered, Now  thus. 

Here  we  have,  in  a  sad  state  of  decay,  one  of  those  fighting 
legends  dear  to  the  heart  of  Sir  Walter  Scott.  What  might 
he  not  have  made  of  it.  Imagine  his  Norman  knight  dis- 
mounted, entrapped  into  the  barn,  confronted  by  our  stalwart 
thane,  brought  to  his  knees  by  one  swinging  stroke  of  the  flail, 
glad  to  escape  with  life  and  limb  on  any  terms.  Or  imagine 
an  oppressed  Saxon  starting  up  from  beneath  every  sheaf,  as 
the  voice  of  their  leader  rang  among  the  rafters.  Mr.  Agarde 
must  have  been  a  man  of  slow  imagination  :  he  gives  but  a 
poor  skeleton  of  a  story,  that  we  may  clothe  with  flesh  and 
blood  to  our  liking.3 

But  have  we,  in  this  crude  legend,  a  genuine  tradition  of 
the  conquest  ?  By  the  conquest,  be  it  understood,  we  mean, 
not  the  pitched  battle  of  1066,  but  the  obscure  conflict  last- 
ing until,  at  some  undetermined  date,  Saxon  was  fused  with 
Norman,  and  they  became  one  nation.  Such  traditions  are 
rare.  There  is  indeed  the  tale  of  Hereward,  but  to  name 
another,  with  any  sort  of  substance  behind  it,  is  not  so  easy. 
Those  dogged  forefathers  of  ours  were  not  the  men  to  weave 
romance  out  of  their  sufferings,  or  wring  the  hearts  of  their 
oppressors  with  lyrics  of  passion  and  woe.  They  set  their 
teeth  to  resist,  and  went  down  fighting ;  or  in  dumb  resentment 
bided  their  time.  Our  literature  was  no  doubt  the  poorer. 

1  Mott,  I  think,  is  the  word  to  supply  :  not  (as  Mr.  Crofton  has  it)  *  armorial 
device.' 

*  He  should,  of  course,  have  written  crest. 

3  Palgrave,  in  The  Merchant  and  the  Friar,  tried  his  hand  upon  it ;  but  he 
had  not  got  up  his  facts.  To  christen  his  thane  Thurkill  was  hardly  more  mala- 
droit than  to  invent  a  Malory  for  his  invader  ;  and  the  settlement  he  imagined 
for  them  happens  to  be  contrary  to  history. 


76  THE   ANCESTOR 

Mr.  Crofton  is  not  inclined  to  be  too  sceptical.  Without 
committing  himself  to  belief  or  disbelief,  he  suggests  (in  a  foot- 
note) that  surrounding  circumstances  are  not  altogether  against 
the  legend.  The  question  is  worth  a  moment's  examination. 
And  first  let  us  return  to  Domesday.  That  record  summarily 
presents  to  us  the  hundred  of  Salford  much  as  it  was  in  King 
Edward's  time.  Gamel's  holding  is  assessed  in  carucates, 
and  is  now  held  by  a  Norman  tenure.  Four  other  tenants 
by  knight  service  have  been  placed  there,  none  of  them  with 
fiefs  of  any  size.  Instead  of  King  Edward  they  all  had  for 
their  chief  lord,  until  his  forfeiture,  Roger  of  Poitou. 

These  arrangements  however  had  already  broken  down, 
and  great  changes  were  to  follow.  The  manor  of  Salford  and 
the  hundred  remained  in  the  Crown  ;  but  a  barony  of  Man- 
chester was  erected,  and  conferred  upon  Grelle.  Whether 
the  tenants  by  knight  service,  or  any  of  them,  suffered  for- 
feiture with  their  lord,  we  are  not  told.1  The  next  survey 
shows  a  striking  increase  of  knights'  fees.  The  baron,  with 
his  vassals,  is  now  rated  at  twelve,  not  all,  it  is  true,  within  the 
hundred  or  county ;  Montbegon  similarly  at  eight.  In 
Pendleton  is  a  small  tenant  in  chief.  One  manor  has  been 
subjected  to  the  Peverell  fee  ;  four  others  to  the  lords  of 
Marsey,  and  Urmston  in  the  parish  of  Flixton,  the  township 
next  Stretford  on  the  west,  is  one  of  them.  The  baron  of 
Dunham  has  crossed  the  Mersey,  and  added  Stretford  itself 
to  his  manors  on  the  Cheshire  side.  The  number  of  thanage 
tenants  has  fallen  to  a  dozen  or  so.2  Evidently  in  this  hundred 
the  conquest  was  not  at  an  end  by  1086. 

Observe  now  the  position  of  Trafford.  With  the  baron's 
castle  two  miles  to  the  north,  the  baron's  feudatories  for  neigh- 
bours in  Withington  on  the  east,  and  in  Barton  on  the  west,3 
the  lords  of  Marsey  and  of  Dunham,  advancing  upon  him 

1  Mr.  Farrer  suggests  that  one  of  them  was  Warine  Bussel,  ancestor  of  the 
barons  of  Penwortham;  and  his  two  carucates  the  manor  of  Ash  ton,  which 
Grelley  held  of  Bussel.     (Lane.  Inq.  i.  35.) 

2  It  would  however  be  possible  to  make  up  eighteen,  or  even   twenty-one 
manors,  out  of  the  various  quantities  they  held. 

3  Whickleswick  and  Davyhulme,  marching  with  TrafFord  on  the  west,  were 
members  of  Barton.     Hulme,  on  the  north,  was  a  century  later  counted  within 
the  barony  of  Manchester ;  Mr.  Farrer  identifies  it  (Lane.  Inq.  i.  70)  with  four 
bovates  held  in  chief  by  Henry  de  Chetam  in  1212,  but  cites  no  evidence. 
Chorlton,  on  the  east,  also  appears  as  held  in  thanage,  though  later  a  depen- 
dency of  Withington,  which  itself  touches  the  eastern  boundary. 


THE   TRAFFORD   LEGEND  77 

shoulder  to  shoulder  from  the  south,  never  was  sturdy  thane 
in  more  precarious  position.  Good  cause  had  he  to  keep  his 
back  to  the  wall,  his  wits  about  him,  and  a  stout  flail  handy. 
Yet  there  he  was  still  in  King  John's  time  ;  indeed,  in  a  sense, 
there  he  is  now. 

History  has  not  recorded  the  manner  in  which  these  move- 
ments were  carried  out.     For  aught  we  know  it  may  have  been 
by  some  perfectly  legal  method  of  pacific  penetration,  by 
marriage,  purchase,  or  agreement,  with  ample  compensation 
for  disturbance.      Hardly  however,  in  the  assumed  state  of 
public  feeling,  without  friction  and  misunderstanding.    We 
need  not  imagine  a  ruthless  determination  to  exterminate  or 
plunder  the  former  owners  of  the  soil ;  for  dangers  enough  lurk 
in  a  simple  question  of  boundaries,  when  the  new  comer  is 
inclined  to  be  high-handed,  and  his  neighbour  is  sore.     The 
lord  of  Trafford  may  already  have  had,  or  claimed  to  have, 
some  interest  in  Stretford.     The  holding  of  this  Wolfernote 
(if  such  was  his  name)  may  have  extended  along  a  doubtful 
border  line.     In  a  dozen  ways  the  conflict  of  interests  will  arise 
between  owners  of  adjoining  estates,  even  when  there  is  no 
question  of  race  or  politics  to  divide  them.     In  fact,  if  Trafford 
and  Mascy  never  fell  out  (for  tradition  points  to  Mascy),  it 
speaks  volumes  for  both  of  them  ;  and  if  we  dare  not  say  the 
story  is  true,  we  may  at  least  pronounce  it  likely  enough. 

On  the  other  hand,  two  difficulties  must  be  admitted.  In 
the  first  place  two  other  families  of  the  same  hundred,  Pilking- 
ton  and  Ashton,  have  similar  crests — mowers  instead  of  the 
thresher  :  the  former  has  adopted  the  motto  as  well,  and 
claimed  to  be  the  hero  of  the  story.  Neither  Pilkington  nor 
Ashton  however  can  make  out  as  good  a  case.  The  root  of  the 
latter's  title  is  on  record :  one  Orm  had  a  moiety  of  Ashton 
from  the  baron  of  Manchester  in  marriage  with  his  daughter, 
and  Roger  his  son  a  grant  of  the  whole  manor.1  The  early 
history  of  the  Pilkingtons  is  all  unknown ;  but  instead  of  being 
Saxon  irreconcilables  they  were  more  probably  on  the  side  of 
the  invader,  for  Pilkington  again  was  held  of  the  baron  by 
knight  service.  How  they  came  by  their  mowers  it  would 
be  idle  to  guess ;  but  both  were  from  an  early  period  neigh- 

1  Mr.  Farrer  states  that  this  Orm  and  Roger  were  ancestors  of  Kirkby  of 
Kirkby  Irleth ;  and  that  the  Ashtons  descend  from  a  later  Orm  de  Ashton, 
who  was  again  an  undertenant  of  Kirkby  there  (Lane.  Inq.  i.  57).  His  conjec- 
tures about  the  Pilkingtons  may  be  found  ibid.  55. 

F 


78  THE  ANCESTOR 

hours  of  the  Traffords,  and  very  possibly  allied  to  them  by- 
blood. 

I  should  not  myself  give  much  weight  to  the  objection, 
taken  by  Shirley  and  others,  that  the  crest  was  only  granted 
by  the  heralds  in  the  sixteenth  century.  For  that  matter, 
a  crest  may  have  been  devised  and  used  long  before  the  date 
at  which  some  herald  managed  to  secure  a  fee  for  it.1  In  its 
present  form  the  TrafTord  crest  is  not  likely  to  be  much  earlier 
than  the  date  of  the  alleged  grant.  The  addition  of  the 
sheaf  is  a  note  of  decadence.  It  detracts  from  the  design, 
and  would  look  still  more  out  of  place  if  set  upon  a  helmet. 
At  Wilmslow,  as  Mr.  Crof ton  mentions,  the  thresher  may  yet 
be  seen  in  glass  of  the  sixteenth  century,  probably  coeval  with 
the  heralds'  earliest  visitations.2  Here,  if  I  remember  right,  he 
is  very  freely  treated,  standing  on  a  mound,  with  no  sheaf. 
The  Pilkington  mower  had  certainly  been  in  use  a  century  or 
so  before :  we  find  that  engraved  upon  seals  of  the  time  of 
Henry  VI.  After  all  it  is  the  antiquity  of  the  tradition,  not 
of  the  crest,  that  we  were  discussing. 

At  any  rate  we  have  no  ground  for  supposing  that  this 
legend  was  invented  to  adorn  a  pedigree.  The  pedigree,  we 
know,  is  later  than  Mr.  Agarde's  tract.  Before  Mr.  Agarde 
we  have  the  Golden  Mirrour  ;  and  the  crest  admittedly  can  be 
traced  still  further  back  than  that.  Nor  is  the  pedigree  itself, 
with  all  its  faults,  one  of  those  concoctions  round  which  the 
figments  of  imagination  are  prone  to  gather.  As  we  have  seen, 
it  is  on  the  whole  a  sound  piece  of  work  enough.  The  judici- 
ous critic  need  not  tear  it  up  in  his  haste,  but  may  be  content 
to  prune  off  a  few  excrescences. 

There  is  yet  another  aspect  of  the  matter.  The  survey  of 
King  John's  time  gave  us  a  dozen  or  more  thanage  tenants  in 
Salfordshire.  What  of  the  others  ?  Did  they  all  descend 
from  thanes  of  King  Edward  ?  How  came  Trafford  after- 
wards to  be  distinguished  from  the  rest  ?  An  examination  of 
the  list  will  furnish  the  answer  to  these  questions.  Some  of  the 
thanes'  holdings  had  by  the  thirteenth  century  come  to  the 
hands  of  invaders,  such  as  Montbegon  and  Nevill.  Notton,  a 

1  To  the  best  of  my  recollection  it  appears  in  the  official  copy  of  the  first 
visitation  of  Lancashire,  and  what  was  passed  at  a  first  visitation  may  be  of  any 
age. 

1  In  a  window  at  the  rectory  ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  it  was  among  the  heraldic 
glass  in  which  the  church  was  once  so  rich. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  79 

stranger  from  Yorkshire,  was  possessed  of  one  :  undertenants 
of  neighbouring  manors,  Radeclive,  Middleton,  Chetham  and 
Pilkington,  held  others.  Besides  Trafford,  only  Chorlton,  Prest- 
wich  and  Pendlebury  were  (as  the  Scotch  say)  of  that  ilk  ;  and 
Pendlebury's  was  quite  a  recent  grant.1  A  few  generations 
later  and  Chorlton,  Prestwich  and  Pendlebury  had  vanished. 
But  the  Traffords  continued  in  Trafford,  with  their  male  line 
unbroken,  their  ancient  charters  safe  in  their  strong  box,  their 
name,  their  tenure  and  their  legend  to  focus  as  it  were  their 
tradition  of  ancient  lineage. 

Once  again  mark  the  revenges  that  time  has  brought.  In 
Withington  the  first  Henry  of  their  line  became  a  tenant  under 
Grelle.  Out  of  that  tenancy  grew  up  so  close  an  alliance  that 
in  the  fourteenth  century  Trafford  was  bearing  arms  of  affec- 
tion granted  by  his  lords.2  Where  the  Norman's  castle  stood 
stands  now  a  house  of  charity  and  good  learning,  called  after 
the  name  of  the  thane's  son ;  for  Chetham  is  a  branch  of 
Trafford.8  It  was  Richard  de  Trafford  of  our  pedigree  who 
acquired,  from  a  widowed  daughter  of  the  house  of  Mascy, 
the  whole  manor  of  Stretford,  where  he  and  his  ancestors  had 
been  tenants ;  and  his  descendants  are  lords  there  to  this  day. 
Mascy  himself  added  a  release  of  his  mesne  lordship,  and  thus 
the  tide  of  invasion  was  rolled  back  across  Mersey  again.  Nor 
was  that  all.  Early  in  the  fifteenth  century  Sir  Edmund,  the 
first  of  that  name,  married  Alice  Venables,  a  great  Cheshire 
heiress,  who  not  merely  shared  the  representation  of  the  barons 
of  Dunham,  but  was  actually  the  senior  coheir,  or  heir  of  line. 
Dunham  Massey  formed  no  part  of  her  rich  inheritance. 
Powerful  intruders  had  become  possessed  of  those  lands ;  and 
only  after  many  years  were  they  recovered  for  her  sister's 
heirs,  the  Booths  of  Dunham. 

Consider  now  one  moment  all  it  means,  this  endurance  of 
one  family  in  unbroken  line  through  seven  or  eight  centuries  : 
how  manifold  the  contrary  chances.  It  means  that,  genera- 
tion after  generation,  the  right  heir  is  found  a  man  healthy, 
vigorous  and  prudent,  prospering  in  business,  fortunate  in 

1  See  the  Ancestor,  iv.  209. 

2  Grelle  with  a  border.    See  seals  of  Sir  Henry  de  Trafford,  Raines  MS.  xxv. 
ff.  1 1 8,  1 8 1.    An  imperfect  example  may  also  be  seen  among  the  Deeds  of  the 
Court  of  Wards,  Box  146  D,  No.  8.    The  coat  with  a  griffin  is  not  found  till  the 
time  of  Henry  VI. 

3  See  the  Ancestor,  riii.  87. 


8o  THE   ANCESTOR 

marriage,  to  raise  up  offspring  sound  as  himself,  to  live  un- 
scathed by  fate,  and  to  hand  down  an  undiminished  patrimony. 
In  so  long  a  chain  of  happy  accident,  it  cannot  well  be 
but  that,  sooner  or  later,  one  link  will  prove  weaker  than  the 
rest. 

Consider  also  this  strange  growth — a  tree  so  tall,  the  main 
stem  green  and  luxuriant,  yet  well  nigh  bare  of  branches. 
Traffords  there  are  yet  of  the  Swythamley  line,  though  Traf- 
fords  only  on  the  distaff  side.  Some  early  offsets  were  dis- 
guised under  other  names,  such  as  Chaderton,  Chetham, 
Stretford,  Hulme,  and  perhaps  more.  But  all  the  younger 
sons  of  all  those  later  generations — where  are  they  ?  Those 
that  founded  families  can  be  counted  on  the  fingers  of  one 
hand.  John  Trafford  of  Urmston  had  sons  enough  ;  but  his 
granddaughter  carried  Newcroft  in  marriage  to  a  Werberton. 
The  three  brethren  of  Prestwich  left  no  heirs.  The  Traffords 
of  Garret  flourished  for  a  while ;  but  their  inheritance  was 
parted  among  sisters  about  the  time  that  William  Trafford, 
a  second  brother  of  the  elder  house,  became  owner  of  the 
monks'  grange  of  Swythamley,  and  had  sons  born  to  him  in 
his  old  age.  After  him  John  Trafford  of  Croston,  whose  heirs 
succeeded  to  Trafford,  and  the  tale  is  told.1 

These  things  are  not  wholly  accident.  Family  tradition, 
family  policy  in  the  long  run  will  make  its  influence  felt.  In 
the  history  of  the  family  we  are  considering,  on  one  occasion 
the  normal  succession  was  wilfully  broken,  when  the  rightful 
heir  was  disinherited  in  the  interest  of  Sir  Cecil  Trafford,  a 
half  brother.  Otherwise  the  deliberate  policy  of  the  Traffords 
for  ages  has  been  to  make  strict  settlements,  to  secure  before 
everything  the  succession  of  an  heir  male.  From  1205  till  far 
on  in  the  eighteenth  century  did  Trafford  pass  from  father 
to  son  with  but  two  exceptions,  once  when  a  grandson,  and 
once  when  a  brother  carried  on  the  line.  Yet  ultimately  the 
weak  link  was  bound  to  appear.  In  1779  Humphrey  Trafford 
died  without  issue ;  but  family  tradition  prevailed,  and  his 
far  off  cousin,  John  Trafford  of  Croston,  was  made  his  heir. 

1  A  family  named  Trafford  in  the  eastern  counties,  I  am  aware,  has  long 
claimed  to  belong  to  this  house.  Their  pedigree,  however,  though  accepted  by 
the  heralds  at  a  visitation  of  Essex,  is  nevertheless  open  to  very  grave  doubts. 
At  best,  though  the  present  representatives  have  clung  to  the  name,  their  con- 
nection with  the  old  stock  is  only  through  a  number  of  female  descents,  native 
and  foreign. 


THE   TRAFFORD    LEGEND  81 

Thus  it  is  that  the  founder  of  the  house  has  yet  a  successor  of 
his  name  and  blood. 

The  lack  of  branches  tells  the  same  tale.  Other  families 
of  note  have  advanced  their  younger  sons  till  these  have  often 
thrown  their  elders  into  the  shade.  To  purchase  a  rich 
marriage  was  one  favourite  method  of  advancement.  Two 
cadets  of  Trafford  were  thus  provided  for,  but  in  either  in- 
stance, as  it  happened,  the  representation  of  the  family  has 
since  devolved  upon  the  fortunate  bridegroom  or  his  heir. 
Not  one  of  them  has  ever  risen  to  eminence  or  wealth  :  we 
may  seek  in  vain  for  a  statesman  or  prelate,  a  judge,  or  a  great 
commander  of  that  house.  Were  they  then  duller  or  less 
enterprising  than  their  neighbours  ?  Their  success  in  life,  I 
believe,  was  sacrificed  to  the  family  policy.  For  the  sake  of 
the  heir  his  brothers'  interests  were  neglected,  their  portions 
cut  down,  their  energies  cramped.  They  farmed  perhaps 
some  corner  of  the  brother's  lands  :  in  penury  they  nursed 
their  lonely  pride ;  or  lingering  about  the  old  home  became 
dependants  on  another's  bounty.  Either  they  did  not 
marry ;  or,  if  they  did,  their  children  sank  lower  in  the 
social  scale.  Hence  it  comes  that  history  knows  nothing  of 
them.1 

But  to  return,  by  all  means  let  us  try  and  be  fair  even  to 
an  old-fashioned  maker  of  pedigrees  on  vellum.  When  con- 
fronted by  a  serious  difficulty,  his  attitude  is  not  perhaps  that 
of  the  modern  critic.  If  his  dates  will  not  bear  examination, 
they  do  not  profess  to  be  more  than  estimates.  His  know- 
ledge of  history  may  not  have  been  exact,  according  to  our 
standards.  But  for  him  were  no  public  libraries,  no  books  of 
reference.  The  public  records  were  hardly  accessible.  Old 
chronicles  in  manuscript,  or  the  quaint  annalists  who  served 
them  up  in  print,  would  be  his  best  sources  of  information. 
We  smile  when  he  promotes  his  thane  to  so  exalted  a  position. 
Twenty-one  personages  of  peerage  rank  in  a  single  hundred  1 

1  Two  held  the  living  of  Wilmslow.  In  one  generation  they  were  all  given 
an  estate  for  life  only  in  small  portions  of  the  family  property.  One  nephew 
lived  and  died  chaplain  at  Trafford.  There  were  yeoman  and  husbandmen  of 
the  name  in  and  near  Hellesby,  where  the  Traffords  held  land ;  but  these  may 
have  been  offshoots  of  a  Cheshire  family  at  Bridge  Trafford.  Perhaps  the  most 
successful  found  a  career  as  steward  of  his  brother's  Cheshire  estate.  After 
Sir  Cecil's  time,  no  doubt,  their  religion  and  the  penal  laws  put  them  at  a  dis- 
advantage. 


82  THE   ANCESTOR 

Why  even  in  the  age  of  Victoria  coronets  are  not  so  thick  as 
that  upon  the  ground,  unless  it  be  in  the  hundred  that  in- 
cludes Grosvenor  Square.  No  doubt  these  things  betray  a 
certain  leaning  towards  the  marvellous,  a  desire  also  to  magnify 
his  client.  But  surely  we  can  afford  to  deal  gently  with 
amiable  weaknesses  like  these  ;  and  keep  strong  language  in 
reserve  for  offenders  of  a  different  class. 

W.  H.  B.  BIRD. 


GEORGICS  * 

THE  name  of  the  ancient  house  of  Gorges  has  a  familiar 
sound  in  the  ear  of  the  genealogist-antiquary,  not  so 
much,  it  may  be,  by  reason  of  its  antiquity  as  for  the  remem- 
brance of  the  strange  shield  of  arms  of  the  gorge  or  whirlpool 
with  which  one  line  of  the  family  played  upon  its  name.    This 
whirl  of  blue  and  white  water  decorates  the  cover  of  Major 
George's  history  of  his  family,  but  we  are  bound  to  point  out 
that  the   device  is  here  represented  as  a  feeble  curve  which 
recalls  the  ammonite  of  geologists  rather  than  the  whirlpool 
of  the  armorists,  and  that  the  little  crest  on  its  full-faced  helm 
is  set  in  the  absurd  sidelong  position  of  the  Victorian  seal- 
engravers.     To  open  the  book  at  its  frontispiece  is  discourag- 
ing to  the  reviewer.     The  figure  of  a  mailed  knight  which 
guards  the  entrance  to  this  history  may  indeed  be  from  an  eigh- 
teenth century  sketch  of  a  rubbing  :  the  eighteenth  century 
*  making  a  draft  of  an  antick  figure  }  was  careless  of  detail,  and 
the  rococo  shield  of  arms,  the  unlikely  sword  with  its  improb- 
able belt,  and  the  King  Charles  spaniel  at  the  knight's  feet 
may  all  lie  at  the  door  of  the  eighteenth  century  artist.     But 
the  shield  of  arms  is  not  that  of  any  Gorges,  and  although  the 
label  runs  '  Sir  Godfrey  Gorge,  kn1.,  Pembridge,  obl.  Juy  7, 
1301,'  the  industry  of  Major  George  has  as  yet  found  no  Sir 
Godfrey  amongst  his  ancestral  figures.     But  the  forefathers 
of  the  author  were  in  Pembridge  at  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  one  of   their  descendants  may  well  have 
adopted  a  brass  emgy^in  the  church  for  an  ancestor. 
More  unfortunately  does  the  narrative  history  begin — 

THE  FAMILY  OF  GEORGE  AND  GEORGES.    SINCE  THE  NORMAN  CONQUEST. 

The  progenitor  of  the  above  family  names  now  in  existence,  was  a  certain 
Normandy  knight,  by  name  Radulph  de  Georges  (Inter  alia,  married  to  a  de 
Morville,  whilst  others  of  the  name  during  a  period  of  200  years  married  four  of 
the  family  de  Morville)  who  was  amongst  those  historical  personages  that  accom- 
panied William,  Duke  of  Normandy,  to  the  conquest  of  England,  on  the  I4th 
of  October,  1066. 

1  DE  GEORGES  from  Gaurges  in  the  Cotentin,  Normandy,  1065.  Pedigrees 
and  History  of  the  Families  of  George  and  Gorges.  (Privately  printed,  1903.) 

83 


84  THE   ANCESTOR 

He  is  named  in  the  *  Battel  Roll '  of  Hastings  amongst  the  629  surviving 
knights  of  the  momentous  conflict  that  took  place  on  that  autumn  da/  when 
Harold  II.  was  defeated  with  an  enormous  number  of  his  followers,  in  the  san- 
guinary battle  which  lasted  from  early  morn  to  nightfall. 

Radulph  de  Georges  was  one  of  the  217  knights  and  gentlemen  that  re- 
mained in  this  country  (and  as  will  appear  in  the  following  account,  greatly 
intermarried  amongst  themselves)  to  whom  King  William  I.  gave,  in  return  for 
their  valuable  services  and  loyalty,  vast  possessions  of  lands  and  emoluments. 

The  construction  and  even  the  punctuation  of  Major 
George's  history  do  not  make  for  lucidity,  but  these  opening 
sentences  offer  many  points  of  attack.  First  of  all  we  may 
point  out  that  Major  George  offers  all  bearers  of  the  surname 
George  or  Georges  a  descent  from  a  Norman  house,  in  the  be- 
lief that  all  such  must  spring  from  a  common  ancestor,  and  this 
is  a  heedless  generosity.  Then  for  our  4  Radulph  de  Georges.' 
For  the  existence  of  this  hero  Major  George  can  cite  no  evi- 
dence whatever.  His  fame,  it  may  be,  should  be  evidence 
enough,  but  that  fame,  insistent  in  the  ears  of  his  descendant, 
has  not  reached  our  own.  Spell  the  c  Battel  Roll '  as  quaintly 
as  we  may,  we  shall  not  add  to  its  authenticity.  '  Radulph's ' 
marriage  with  a  Morville  must  also  rest  upon  the  family  re- 
collection of  the  ceremony,  and  for  his  vast  possessions  in  lands 
and  emoluments  Domesday  is  not  called  to  witness.  *  His- 
torical personages,'  as  Major  George  has  it,  accompanied  Duke 
William  in  great  number,  but  the  duke's  success  at  Hastings 
is  easily  explained  when  we  consider  the  mighty  throng  of 
unhistorical  personages  who  came  with  him  to  be  ancestors  of 
the  peerage  and  the  landed  gentry.  With  this  arriere  ban 
Radulph  must  be  allowed  to  take  his  place  until  more  proof 
may  be  found  for  him. 

The  descendants  of  Radulph  *  scattered  themselves  over 
various  parts  of  England,'  eluding  their  descendant's  every 
attempt  to  catch  and  identify  them.  Major  George  deplores 
the  want  of  education  of  these  earlier  ages,  and  especially  their 
careless  spelling,  a  fault  which  their  illiterate  cunning  per- 
suades them  to  cloak  with  the  use  of  Latin  in  documents,  to 
the  manifest  annoyance  of  Major  George,  whose  earlier  notes 
are  presented  in  this  wise  : — 

Note. — Anno,  1221  Dominom  Georgium  de  Georges  mentioned  with 
Humfredo  Bowne  Comite  Hereforde  &  Rogero  Mortimer,  Domino  de 
Chicke,  with  regard  to  the  villain  de  Kardyf  (Cardiff)  and  mentioned  as  a 
great  soldier,  and  Governor  of  Cardiff  Castle. 


GEORGICS  85 

With  Ives  de  Gorges  and  Thomas  de  Gorges  living  in 
the  reign  of  Henry  III.  Major  George  should  be  on  surer 
ground,  but  his  method  of  setting  down  the  many  notes  he 
has  collected  concerning  his  surname  is  a  bewilderment  to  the 
reader  and  authorities  and  references  are  seldom  quoted. 
Here  at  least  arises  a  family  which  for  some  generations  had  its 
share  in  history.  Ralph  de  Gorges  was  at  Carlaverock  clad  in 
a  coat  mascle  de  or  e  de  asur,  and  he  was  summoned  to  Parlia- 
ment as  a  baron  under  Edward  II.  This  baron's  son  Ralph 
died  without  issue,  and  a  daughter  who  had  married  a  Russel 
carried  name  and  arms  to  her  husband's  family.  The  history 
of  the  house  cannot  be  said  to  be  illuminated  by  Major 
George's  researches.  Scrappy  notes  from  documents  in  a 
language  unfamiliar  to  the  author,  and  in  a  handwriting  ob- 
scure to  him,  make  a  confused  history  too  difficult  to  follow. 
For  an  example  of  Major  George's  transcription  of  documents 
we  may  quote  one  of  his  many  lists  of  witnesses  amongst  whom 
a  Gorges  is  found.  Of  Ralph  de  Gorges  he  writes  : — 

1320.  He  is  a  witness  with  others  to  a  charter  granted  by  Edward  II.,  17 
February,  made  to  the  Burgesses  of  Bristol,  it  is  signed  by  the  king  and  wit- 
nessed at  Gloucester.  These  are  the  actual  signatories.  It  will  be  seen  that 
within  three  years  of  his  death  he  signed  his  name  as  Georges  and  not  Gorge. 

Bfcmun&o,  comtto  leant' 

Jobanne  &e  JSrittaine 

Comlte  TRicbmonD 

BDmonDo  comite  Stun&el' 

ttbom  a  tUahc 

jobanne  &e  Sancto  3obannc  J>e  SSasetng 

•Rafculpbus  &e  Gcoracs 

Otibcrto  petebag  (scnescballo  bospttti  nostrt) 

We  may  well  doubt  whether  Major  George  can  ever  have 
seen  an  original  document  of  the  medieval  period.  His  belief 
that  Edward  1 1.  signed  his  name  to  this  charter  or  to  any  other 
charter  shows  that  to  Major  George  the  picture  in  Mangnall 
or  Mrs.  Markham  of  King  John  writing  John  R.  at 
the  foot  of  Magna  Carta  with  a  long  swan  quill  presents  no 
difficulty.  The  tale  of  *  Georges '  and  *  Gorges '  illustrates 
the  prepossession  of  our  author  with  the  idea  that  the  name 
of  the  medieval  family  was  generally  written  Georges  and  not, 
as  common  experience  shows,  Gorges.  It  will  be  seen  that 
Ralph  is  allowed  alone  amongst  the  witnesses  to  break  the 
syntax  of  the  attesting  clause  by  keeping  his  name  in  the  nomi- 


86  THE   ANCESTOR 

native  case.  The  arrangement  of  the  names  show  that*Major 
George  is  unaware  that  John  of  Brittany  was  the  Earl  of  Rich- 
mond, who  is  here  given  a  line  to  himself ;  and  we  may  add 
whilst  the  list  is  before  us,  that  '  Thorn  a  Wake  '  should  take 
the  less  colloquial  form  of  '  Thoma  Wake,'  and  that  the  name 
of  Gilbert  the  Steward  should  be  Petchey  or  Peche,  and  not 
Petehey. 

Another  example  which  will  show  the  extreme  inadvisa- 
bleness  of  following  Major  George  as  a  genealogist  in  the 
medieval  period  here  follows : — 

1290,  Sept.  1 8. — Commission  of  oyer  and  terminer  to  Nicholas  de  Segrave 
the  elder  ...  on  complaint  by  William,  Abbot  of  Marivale,  that  Ralph  de 
Georges,  Robert  de  Everesdon,  William  le  Messer  of  Dunton,  Robert  de 
Mere,  Thomas  Curteys,  Richard  Matheu,  etc.,  cut  down  and  carried  away  the 
said  Abbot's  trees  in  his  wood  at  Dunton,  and  took  away  his  sheep  from  his  fold 
at  Rulowe,  co.  Warwick. 

(Note. — The  *  William  le  messer  of  Dunton '  above  mentioned  is  the  son 
of  Sir  Ralph  and  Joane  who  were  of  Dunton,  he  would  be  a  half  brother  of 
this  Sir  Ralph  de  Georges.) 

No  reference  is  given  for  this  document,  but  we  can  easily 
identify  it  with  an  entry  in  a  patent  roll  of  18  Edward  I. 
Marivale  should  be  Murivale,  and  we  discover  that  Major 
George  sustains  his  theory  that  Georges  is  the  usual  form  of 
the  surname  in  early  times  by  deliberately  doctoring  Gorges 
into  Georges  wherever  he  finds  it.  This  patent  rofl,  for  in- 
stance, has  the  name  plainly  Gorges  in  the  original.  But 
worse  than  this  is  the  reckless  guess  of  the  note.  Reading 
between  the  lines  an  antiquary  will  see  that  Ralph  de  Gorges 
is  associated  in  the  abbot's  plea  with  the  servants  who  cut  wood 
and  drove  sheep  under  his  orders.  William  '  le  messer '  of 
Dunton  is  of  course  Ralph's  mower  or  harvester,  the  word 
'  messer  '  bearing  no  other  translation.  Yet  this  yokel  is  pre- 
sented us  as  the  brother  of  his  master,  a  great  baron  of  the  land, 
for  reasons  which  to  Major  George  are  so  apparent  that  he 
sees  no  need  to  refer  us  to  them. 

A  William  de  Georges,  who  may  have  been  identical  with 
a  William,  brother  of  Ralph  de  Gorges,  living  in  1307,  is 
said  to  have  married  first  one  of  the  Hydes  of  Pymperne  in 
Gloucestershire,  ancestors  according  to  Major  George  of 
the  famous  Lord  Clarendon,  '  whose  daughter  Lady  Jane 
(sic)  married  James  II.'  With  his  second  wife,  a  Peny- 
ton,  he  is  said  to  have  acquired  the  manor  of  Baunton, 


GEORGICS  87 

and  to  have  founded  the  old  family  of  Georges,  lords 
of  Baunton  until  its  sale  by  William  George  who  died 
in  1707.  An  old  family,  and  conscious  of  the  fact,  they 
were  ready  in  the  person  of  Robert  George,  unjustly  cut  off 
from  the  succession,  to  declare  in  1727  that  their  Gloucester- 
shire land  had  been  enjoyed  by  them  '  between  five  and  six 
hundred  years.'  Gentlemen  and  squires,  they  were  famous  in 
Cirencester,  which  one  of  them  garrisoned  for  the  Parliament, 
and  it  may  be  mentioned  here  that  they  possessed  an  oak  chest 
with  their  arms  and  letters,  one  of  the  most  delightful  of  its 
kind.  It  is  now  owned  by  the  town  of  Cirencester,  and  its 
date  of  1539  is  misread  by  Major  George  as  1537.  Of  this 
family  we  have  wills  and  inquests  and  other  evidences  by  which 
we  may  follow  the  main  line  at  least,  although  the  marriage 
of  Gyles  George  in  the  fifteenth  century  to  *  a  Miss  Swayne 
of  Bristol '  makes  us  feel  that  Major  George  is  not  yet  at  a 
period  in  which  he  may  be  at  ease. 

From  a  branch  of  this  family  Major  George  claims  descent. 
So  far  as* we  may  follow  his  methods  his  proof  is  as  follows. 
A  Robert  George  is  son  to  John  George,  a  younger  son  of 
George  of  Baunton.  He  died  in  1623,  according  to  Major 
George,  who  confuses  him  with  a  cousin.  Two  of  his  sons, 
John  and  William,  are  squires  in  rank  and  men  of  good  and 
ascertained  position. 

Major  George  produces  for  us  another  son,  Samuel  George. 
This  Samuel  is  said  to  have  been  born  at  Baunton  on  3.  July 
1597,  and  a  search  for  the  proof  of  this  fact  shows  that  to 
Major  George  a  parish  register  entry  of  a  christening  is  an 
entry  of  the  date  of  birth  and  an  entry  of  a  burial  one  of 
a  death  date.  The  other  facts  which  Major  George  has  col- 
lected concerning  him  are  as  follows  : — 

He  married  and  had  with  other  issue — 
I.  Samuel. 
II.  Philip  George  of  Twyford,  Eardisland,  co.  Hereford. 

From  this  Philip  George  the  descent  of  Major  George  through 
Herefordshire  yeomen,  Bristol  distillers  and  bankers,  and  sol- 
diers at  the  last,  seems  clear  enough. 

But  will  it  be  believed  that  this  alleged  younger  son  of  a 
family  of  Gloucestershire  squires  is  carried  across  country  to 
Herefordshire  to  account  for  the  presence  in  Eardisland  of  a 
family  of  George  which  the  calendar  of  wills  at  Hereford  show 
to  have  been  at  Eardisland  by  1571  at  the  latest.  A  younger 


88  THE   ANCESTOR 

son,  too,  who  at  the  last  visitation  of  Gloucestershire  was 
returned  as  having  died  unmarried.  There  can  be  little 
doubt  that  we  have  here  a  pedigree  which  will  not  stand 
against  facts  and  dates — a  genealogy  which  should  be  nailed 
to  the  counter. 

At  this  noteworthy  point  we  leave  Major  George's  re- 
searches. Before  publishing  a  second  edition  of  his  book  he 
will  do  well  to  give  some  attention  to  these  details.  His  whole 
attitude  of  mind  saves  him  from  any  suspicion  of  tampering 
with  the  evidences  before  him,  but  that  he  should  see  no  diffi- 
culty here  in  his  attempt  to  find  ancestors  in  an  historic  family 
is  characteristic  of  a  school  of  genealogists  which  ought  not 
to  have  survived  the  credulous  century  behind  us. 

In  the  new  edition  of  his  book  Major  George  might  well 
abandon  the  remarkable  synopsis  of  English  history  which  fills 
several  pages  of  what  is  already  a  heavy  book,  a  synopsis  which 
tells  us  that  the  language  of  the  English  under  Henry  I.  was 
Normanty,  that  the  House  of  Commons  was  '  practically  estab- 
lished by  the  nobles  selling  land  to  commoners  in  consequence 
of  the  crusades/  and  that  printing  was  invented  in  the  reign  of 
Henry  VII.  It  is  difficult  to  say  why  Major  George  should 
set  down  faulty  spelling  as  one  of  the  special  characteristics  of 
the  reign  of  Richard  III.,  but  it  is  in  any  case  an  ungenerous 
reproach  from  an  archaeological  writer  who  has  so  much  iden- 
tified himself  with  his  subject  that  his  own  spelling  does  not 
follow  the  cramped  rules  of  the  moderns. 

Major  George's  industry  has  been  so  great  that  no  searcher 
for  notes  of  the  Georges  or  Gorges  families  can  afford  to 
neglect  the  mass  of  his  collections.  It  is  sad  that  such  industry 
should  have  given  us  in  the  end,  through  mere  carelessness  in 
the  setting  down,  so  little  sound  fact  in  which  we  may  put 
trust.  Such  books  as  this  almost  persuade  us  that  a  genea- 
logist should  consign  pitilessly  to  the  fire  the  first  years  of  his 
note-books,  to  begin  work  again  in  the  light  of  his  hardly  won 
experience. 

O.  B. 


THE   COCKS   OF   THE   NORTH 

THE  sixteenth  century  saw  the  history  of  the  Gordons 
begun  by  Giovanni  Ferreri,  a  monk  who  had  exchanged 
Piedmont  for  Paris  and  Paris  for  Kinloss  in  Morayshire. 
Tooting  is  to-day  more  near  and  neighbourly  to  Ballarat 
than  was  Piedmont  to  Kinloss  in  1545,  but  this  travelled 
monk  took  kindly  to  his  new  quarters,  munched  his  bannock 
in  content,  and  after  seventeen  years  in  Morayshire  wrote 
down  upon  a  very  few  sheets  of  paper  the  history  of  the 
ancestors  of  his  patron  the  Earl  of  Huntly.  For  this  history 
he  read  all  the  Scottish  annals  and  chronicles  which  he  could 
come  by  in  the  Latin,  for  he  boggled  at  the  Scots  vernacular, 
although  Master  William  Gordon,  the  good  earl's  secretary, 
aided  him  with  an  outline  of  the  story  written  in  the  Moray- 
shire idiom. 

Much  manuscript  and  printed  matter  has  followed  the 
essay  of  Ferrerius,  but  as  we  learn  from  the  preface  to  the 
first  volume  of  the  New  Spalding  Club's  House  of  Gordon  that 
there  have  been  no  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty-seven 
*  chief  branches '  descended  from  the  elder  or  northern 
Gordons  alone,  it  would  seem  that  the  twentieth  century 
will  be  far  on  its  way  before  the  definitive  history  of  the  house 
and  name  may  be  achieved. 

The  great  Scottish  families  are  at  last  admitting  the  modern 
spirit  of  wholesome  doubt  to  the  chronicle  books  of  their 
ancestors.  In  older  days  the  Gordons  would  have  chosen 
their  first  forefather  from  some  ancient  king  with  a  Latin 
name  for  all  proof  of  his  living  and  reigning,  from  a  duke  of 
Florence,  a  Roman  patrician  or  Hungarian  magnate.  But 
Captain  Swinton,  who  would  claim  the  hundred  and  fifty- 
seven  chief  branches  of  Gordon  for  a  substantial  addition  to 
the  cadets  of  Swinton  is  found  asking  whether  any  human 
being  of  the  name  of  Gordon  can  be  found  in  Scotland  before 
1 200,  and  his  challenge  has  never  been  taken  up. 

Sir  Adam  Gordon  who  had  Strathbogie  in  1319  is  taken 
by  the  editor  of  the  House  of  Gordon  as  the  first  Gordon  with 
a  record  to  his  name.  By  that  name  he  should  have  come 

89 


90  THE   ANCESTOR 

from  the  south,  and  it  is  a  significant  fact,  which  the  editor 
does  not  note  in  his  preface,  that  this  rare  name  of  Adam 
was  a  recurrent  one  with  our  own  thirteenth  century  house 
of  the  Gurdons  of  Hampshire. 

From  Adam  Gordon  of  Strathbogie  the  records  of  the 
main  lines  seem  to  run  clearly  and  from  this  their  first 
beginning  the  name  spreads  itself  about  Scotland.  The 
elder  son  had  the  northern  estates  and  the  younger  the 
lands  in  the  south.  In  the  fourth  generation  from  Adam 
a  more  notable  parting  began.  John  Gordon,  grandson  of 
Adam,  had  two  sons.  Sir  Adam  Gordon,  the  younger  of  the 
two,  fell  to  the  English  bow  at  Homildon  Hill  and  left  a 
daughter  and  heir,  Elizabeth,  who  married  a  Seton  from  the 
border.  Sir  John  the  elder  brother  was  followed  by  Jock 
Gordon  of  Scurdargue,  and  Thorn  Gordon  of  Ruthven,  his 
bastard  sons  by  '  Elizabeth  Cruickshank,  Aswanlie's  daughter.' 
Thus  we  see  that  the  Gordons  of  the  north  are  for  the  half 
of  them  of  bastard  origin  and  for  the  other  half  cadets  of 
Seton,  for  Elizabeth  Gordon's  descendants  bore  her  name  and 
arms.  That  the  forefathers  of  the  proud  stomached  lairds 
who  swarmed  in  Aberdeen,  Banff,  Moray  and  Sutherland 
should  have  been  begotten  the  wrong  side  of  the  blanket 
was  a  fact  which  sorely  exercised  the  minds  of  the  earlier 
historians  of  the  race,  and  the  maker  of  the  Balbithan  MS. 
sets  forward  as  a  cogent  argument  for  the  legitimacy  of  Jock 
and  Thorn  the  fact  that  the  arms  of  Sir  John  suffered  no 
brisure  for  bastardy  in  the  generations  which  followed  him. 

Its  answered  their  Legitimacy  was  owned  in  so  far  as  Jock  and  Thorn  and 
their  posterity  to  this  hour  were  allowed  to  bear  and  keep  in  their  publique  En- 
signs and  Coats  of  Arms,  upon  all  publick  and  private  occasions,  the  bare  and 
simple  Arms  their  father  and  all  the  Family  of  Huntly  had  used  from  their 
first  arise  in  Scotland  till  then  ;  without  any  addition  or  alteration,  far  less  any 
mark  of  Bastardie  ;  and  to  be  sure  the  office  of  herauldrie  and  giving  out  Coats 
of  Arms  and  bestowing  other  such  honours  was  the  King's  province  the  fountain 
of  all  honour,  who  very  well  knew  how  to  bestow  honours  on  such  as  were  worthy 
and  deserving  of  them,  and  if  any  should  take  upon  them  to  assume  to  them- 
selves such  Coats  of  Arms  as  they  deserved  not,  they  were  severely  handled  by 
authority  for  their  presumption,  and  if  there  was  any  blot  in  their  birth  be  sure 
it  was  insert  in  their  Scutcheon,  and  there  were  narrow  Inquiry  of  this  taken 
by  the  King  and  others  he  employed  for  that  purpose. 

We  have  here  a  curious  instance  of  that  faith  in  the  heraldry 
books  so  often  found  in  seventeenth  century  writers,  a  faith 


THE  COCKS  OF  THE  NORTH    91 

which  certain  followers  of  the  heraldic  cult  would  fain  revive 
amongst  us.  But  here  if  ever  we  have  proof  that  faith  is 
indeed  *  that  quality  which  enables  us  to  believe  things  which 
we  know  to  be  untrue.'  We  may  pardon  the  archaeology 
which  imagined  the  medieval  king  as  the  deviser  and  only 
ordainer  of  the  arms  which  should  figure  on  the  shields  and 
on  the  seals  of  the  remotest  of  his  gentle  subjects,  seeing  that 
such  archaeology  has  weathered  the  nineteenth  century. 
But  that  a  Scots  gentleman,  well  learned  in  the  armory  of 
his  fellows,  should  believe  that  illegitimacy  in  Scotland  left 
indelible  marks  upon  the  shields  of  misbegotten  houses  is 
nothing  less  than  amazing.  One  may  ask  whether  the  author 
of  the  Balbithan  MS.  had  ever  seen  the  shield  of  the  earls  of 
Douglas,  sprung  from  Archibald  the  grim,  the  bastard  off- 
spring of  a  nameless  mother,  or  the  shield  of  Douglas  of  Drum- 
lanrig  which  not  only  bore  the  arms  of  Douglas  without  a 
'  blot,'  but  quartered  with  it  the  whole  arms  of  Mar,  as  though 
bastardy  barred  no  whit  of  an  armorial  inheritance.  Even 
in  the  shield  of  the  Douglas  earls  of  Angus,  a  line  whose  origin 
was  at  once  illegitimate  and  incestuous,  the  pious  student  of 
the  heraldry  folios  might  search  in  vain  for  *  marks  of  Bastardie.' 
The  story  of  Adam  Gordon  and  Elizabeth  Cruickshank  is 
no  sooner  told  than  the  Balbithan  MS.  takes  us  a  step  further 
to  a  new  scandal  which  must  be  arranged  before  the  legitimate 
chief  of  Jock's  descendants  can  have  his  proper  precedence. 
The  lairds  of  Buckie  and  Pitlurg  are  provided  with  matter 
for  argument  in  the  fact  that  Jock's  eldest  son  Alexander, 
from  whom  the  house  of  Buckie  descends,  although  the  son 
of  a  daughter  of  Macleod  of  Harris,  was  not  born  in  wedlock. 
In  this  new  dispute  the  Balbithan  author  takes  the  side  of 
Pitlurg,  but  deplores  these  '  nice  and  frivolous  intestine 
debates  amongst  friends.'  The  English  genealogist  is  amazed 
amongst  these  *  debates '  by  the  absence  of  any  appeal  to 
parchment  and  paper,  Pitlurg  being  ready  to  draw  upon  Buckie 
with  a  tradition  for  all  support  at  his  back,  and  Buckie  for  his 
part  *  expressing  himself  very  modestly  and  mannerly '  in 
defence  of  the  honour  of  his  ancestress,  being  content  to 
wonder  *  how  Jock  in  point  of  good  manners  could  or  was 
safe  to  get  her  with  child  and  not  marry  her.'  But  the 
Scottish  genealogist  who  would  take  his  researches  into  the 
medieval  period  is  fortunate  if  he  can  but  light  upon  ancient 
tradition. 


92  THE   ANCESTOR 

The  present  volume  contains  a  bibliography  of  Gordon 
genealogy  from  MSS.  and  printed  works,  a  copy  of  the  Bal- 
bithan  MS.,  histories  of  the  Gordons  of  Abergeldie,  Coclara- 
chie  and  Gight,  and  lists  of  Gordons  served  as  heirs,  Gordons 
who  were  pollable  persons  in  Aberdeenshire  in  1696,  Gordons 
at  Scottish  universities,  Gordons,  members  of  parliament, 
and  Gordons,  writers  to  the  signet. 

Abergeldie  is  the  senior  cadet  of  Huntly.  The  lands  were 
gotten  by  Alexander  the  first  earl  for  his  service  against  the 
Douglas,  and  his  second  son  Sir  Alexander  held  them  by  a 
deed  of  gift  from  James  III.  Since  that  day  the  lands  have 
descended  from  father  to  son  or  from  brother  to  brother. 
The  estate  marches  with  the  royal  estate  of  Balmoral,  and 
King  Edward  VII  is  tenant  under  a  lease  from  the  present 
laird  of  Abergeldie.  The  third  laird  was. killed  at  Pinkie  in 
1547,  and  the  sixth  meddled  with  a  Spanish  plot  after  all 
Spanish  hopes  had  been  scattered  with  the  Armada.  The 
house  has  bred  many  soldiers  and  sailors  of  distinction  and 
its  history  in  the  wars  is  brought  down  to  the  war  in  South 
Africa,  where  more  than  one  of  its  cadets  was  in  the  field. 

Abergeldie  is  of  the  Seton-Gordons.  Coclarachie,  the 
subject  of  the  second  treatise,  claims  descent  from  Jock  Gordon 
of  Scurdargue,  the  first  Gordon  of  Coclarachie  getting  lands 
there  by  marriage  with  Elizabeth  Winton.  The  record  of 
this  branch  may  be  called  a  peaceful  one,  for  but  one  laird  of 
Coclarachie  died  a  violent  death,  George  Gordon  who  was 
beheaded  at  Aberdeen  in  1562.  Fora  more  stirring  history 
we  must  go  on  to  the  marvellous  record  of  the  Gordons  of 
Gight. 

Gight  in  Fyvie  is  said  by  philologists  to  carry  the  meaning 
of  a  windy  place,  and  an  east  wind  seems  to  blow  through 
all  its  uneasy  history.  Sir  William  Gordon  was  founder  of 
the  house,  a  son  of  George,  Earl  of  Huntly,  by  the  lady  Annabel 
of  Scotland.  He  went  with  his  brothers  Huntly  and  Sir  Adam 
to  Flodden  field,  and  at  the  day's  end  was  taken  up  dead. 
From  his  second  son  James  came  Colonel  John  Gordon,  who 
helped  slay  Wallenstein,  and  the  story  of  his  daughters  and 
their  descendants  makes  a  fine  background  for  the  deeds  of 
the  male  line.  Barbara  Gordon  married  John  Grant  of 
Ballindalloch,  who  was  murdered  in  1559  by  John  Roy  Grant 
of  Carron,  a  left-handed  man  wearing  *  a  coat  of  armour  or 
maillie  coat.'  A  deadly  feud  was  thus  briskly  begun  and 


THE    COCKS    OF   THE   NORTH          93 

seventy-one  years  afterward  a  Grant  of  Ballindalloch  takes 
satisfaction  by  killing  a  Grant  of  Carron.  As  this  avenging 
Ballindalloch  was  a  left-handed  man  and  as  moreover  he  was 
wearing  the  original  maillie  coat  which  had  protected  his 
great-grandfather's  slayer,  Sir  Robert  Gordon,  who  tells  the 
story  in  his  Earls  of  Sutherland,  sees  in  the  whole  tale  a  hand- 
some instance  of  God's  providence  and  judgements.  Another 
daughter  married  James  Innes  of  Rathmakenzie,  who  was 
killed  at  Pinkie,  and  by  him  had  Alexander  Innes  of  Crombie, 
whom  his  kinsman  and  familiar  enemy  Innes  of  Invermarkie 
drew  from  his  safe  lodging  at  Aberdeen  by  crying  for  help  in 
the  night  and  feigning  a  fit  outside  his  door.  A  shot  and  a 
dozen  dirk  wounds  paid  Crombie  for  his  soft-hearted  folly. 

The  second  laird  of  Gight  died  in  his  bed,  but  his  '  crewale 
invassion  of  William  Con  of  Auchry  and  hurting  and  wounding 
him  in  divers  parts  of  his  body  to  the  great  effusion  of  his 
blude  '  shows  us  that  he  was  not  lacking  in  spirit.  The  third 
laird  rode  with  Edom  o'  Gordon  to  the  burning  of  the  house 
of  Towie,  and  the  avenging  Forbeses  slew  him  at  the  ferry 
of  Dundee.  His  wife  was  a  bastard  daughter  of  the  Cardinal 
Beaton,  who  was  murdered  in  1546.  She  married  Edom 
o'  Gordon's  brother,  and  the  battle  of  Glenlivat  made  her  a 
widow  for  the  second  time.  The  daughter  and  heir  of  this 
couple  wedded  with  Hume,  Earl  of  Dunbar,  whose  sudden  end 
was  set  down  to  poison. 

John  Gordon  of  Adiell,  a  son  of  the  first  laird,  succeeded 
to  Gight.  In  his  day  began  a  feud  with  the  Keiths,  and  John 
of  Gight  was  at  the  killings  of  John  Keith  of  Cryallie  and 
John  Keith  of  Clachriach.  The  king  sought  his  presence  at 
court  for  the  killing  of  the  '  Earle  of  Marches  kinsman,'  but 
Huntly  stood  by  his  kinsman  and  answered  the  king  stoutly 
that  he  himself  would  come  to  Edinburgh  with  Gight  *  if 
hee  might  bring  his  frinds  and  forces  with  him — otherwise  not.' 
The  manner  of  his  death  is  uncertain,  but  it  seems  probable 
that  at  the  age  of  eighty  and  more  he  fell  at  the  battle  of 
Balrinnes  in  1594.  Amongst  his  hopeful  brood  the  old 
traditions  of  the  house  do  not  suffer.  His  sons  were  William, 
John,  Alexander  and  George.  William  and  John  shared  in 
the  killing  of  the  bonny  Earl  of  Moray,  and  the  latter  was  left 
for  dead  at  Donibristle,  his  hat,  money  and  weapons  being 
taken  away  by  his  thrifty  kinsmen.  Moray's  own  mother 
took  him  into  her  house,  cherished  him  with  meat  and  drink, 

G 


94  THE   ANCESTOR 

and  saved  him  alive  for  the  gallows  of  Edinburgh,  where  he 
suffered  with  his  serving  man.  Alexander  was  a  soldier 
against  the  Spaniards,  colonel  of  a  Scots  regiment  in  the  low 
countries  and  governor  of  Bergen  op  Zoom.  In  an  evil  day 
he  left  the  comparative  security  of  the  Netherlands  battle- 
fields and  came  home  to  visit"  his  friends.  '  Some  evil  willers 
secretlie  layd  ane  ambush '  for  him  and  the  colonel's  military 
career  was  at  an  end.  Of  George  little  is  known,  but  that 
he  was  killed,  and  that  most  probably  at  Haarlem  in  Holland. 
Of  the  daughters  Margaret  married  Alexander  Chalmers  of 
Strichen,  whose  stepfather  her  brother  slew,  and  bred  a  son 
who  was  at  the  killing  of  the  Earl  of  Moray ;  whilst  Catherine 
married  Keith  of  Clachriach,  whom  her  brother  William 
murdered,  and  her  son  joined  her  nephew  Gordon  of  Ardlogie 
in  a  bloody  feud  with  Leask  of  Leask. 

The  Gordons  were  ever  '  the  gay  Gordons  '  in  ballad  and 
legend.  The  fifth  laird  was  a  Gordon  by  father  and  mother, 
and  his  career  and  the  career  of  the  sons  and  grandsons  who 
followed  him  will  serve  to  illustrate  for  us  the  dominant 
gaiety  of  his  house.  Before  coming  to  his  lairdship  of  Gight 
William  Gordon  had  given  his  proofs.  The  killing  of  William 
Leslie  his  kinsman  was  but  a  regrettable  mishap,  Leslie 
having  foolishly  thrust  himself  forward  whilst  Gordon  was 
attempting  the  life  of  Troup  of  Begshall,  but  the  murder  of 
Thomas  Eraser  of  Strichen,  his  sister's  stepfather,  whom 
Gordon  slew  with  a  sword  on  the  bridge  of  Ugie,  was  a  more 
straightforward  business.  His  feud  with  the  Keiths  was 
famous  and  bloody,  and  endured  for  ten  years'  space,  and 
after  he  had  come  at  last  to  the  lairdship  of  Gight.  In  1597 
we  have  a  glimpse  of  the  home  life  of  Gight.  A  certain  James 
Hog,  seeking  two  mares  stolen  from  him,  found  the  said 
mares  together  with  a  stolen  grey  horse  £  gangand  and  pastur- 
ant,'  upon  the  Gight  meadows,  and  was  even  so  ill  advised  as 
to  ask  for  their  surrender.  At  such  an  outrageous  demand 
the  gay  Gordons  came  out  of  Gight  like  angry  bees,  with 
*  hagbuts,  pistolets,  jacks,  steelbonnets,  swords,  gauntlets  and 
other  weapons  '  they  pursued  Hog  and  his  friends,  wounding 
them  in  divers  parts  of  their  bodies.  It  goes  without  saying 
that  the  laird's  instinct  for  gaiety  carried  him  to  the  affair 
of  the  Earl  of  Moray,  and  he  is  credited  with  being  the  man 
who  slew  the  bonny  earl  '  among  the  rocks  of  the  sea  '  with 
three  pistol  bullets  in  his  bowels.  It  must  not  be  supposed 


THE  COCKS  OF  THE  NORTH    95 

that  the  law  of  Scotland  held  its  peace  throughout  these  do- 
ings, for  the  price  of  one  of  the  laird's  murders  was  assessed 
at  a  fine  of  five  thousand  merks  Scots,  although  we  have  no 
record  of  the  laird's  discharging  that  moderate  penalty.  And 
Gordon  of  Gight  is  more  than  once  *  put  to  the  horn,'  but 
with  that  harmless  ceremony  which  might  be  safely  performed 
at  Edinburgh  Cross  the  law  seems  to  have  contented  itself. 
In  1 5 96  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Kirk  orders  his  arrest, 
yet  in  1597  he  is  admitted  a  burgess  of  Aberdeen,  and  his 
ordered  life  goes  on  as  though  the  General  Assembly  were 
as  little  regarded  in  Gight  as  a  distant  parliament  of  rooks. 

The  Keiths  were  doubtless  a  poor  spirited  race,  easily 
weary  with  a  ten  years'  feud,  and  Gight  in  1601  began  a  new 
feud  with  the  Hays  and  the  Mowats.  With  George  Gordon 
in  Bridgend  the  laird  of  Gight  in  1601  rode  to  the  lands  of 
Mowat  of  Balquholie  with  twenty  horsemen  armed  with 
hagbuts,  pistolets,  swords  and  lances.  Mowat's  corn  was 
trampled  down  and  his  servants  wounded.  The  visit  was 
renewed  the  next  day  when  no  less  than  three  hundred  of 
Gight's  friends  and  wellwishers  with  spear  in  hand  and  steel 
bonnet  on  brow  rode  over  and  athwart  the  growing  corn  of 
Balquholie. 

In  September  of  the  same  year  one  Alexander  Chalmer,  a 
messenger  of  court,  was  so  foolhardy  as  to  appear  at  Gight  to 
'  execute  letters  '  against  the  laird,  who,  mazed  by  his  reck- 
lessness, allowed  him  to  go  away  in  a  whole  skin.  But  those 
who  supped  Gight's  porridge  were  more  jealous  for  the 
house's  honour,  and  Chalmer  was  pursued  and  brought  back. 
The  laird,  who  had  perhaps  misunderstood  the  nature  of  the 
written  letters  in  his  hands  was  now  properly  roused  to  a 
sense  of  Chalmer's  enormity  and  at  first  sight  of  the  messenger 
would  have  shot  him  with  one  of  those  *  pistolets '  which  seem 
at  this  time  to  have  made  the  principal  part  of  a  Gordon's 
costume. 

He  then  hurlit  him  within  his  hall,  tuik  the  copyis  [of  the  letters]  kaist  them 
in  a  dische  of  bree  [and  forced  the  messenger]  to  sup  and  swallow  thame,  held 
ane  drawne  dagger  foiranent  his  hairt,  avowing  with  mony  horrible  and  blas- 
hemous  aithis  to  have  thrust  the  dagger  throw  his  hairt  gif  he  had  not  suppit 
he  saidis  copyis. 

The  wretched  Chalmer — what  fee  could  have  tempted 
him  on  such  an  errand  ? — swallowed  the  copies  '  for  feir  and 


96  THE   ANCESTOR 

saulftie  of  his  life.'  Gight  was  made  rebel  for  that  day's 
work  and  Huntly  his  chief  was  ordered  to  bring  him  '  quick 
or  deid '  to  the  king  and  his  council ;  but  rebel,  or  no  rebel, 
Gordon  bides  safe  at  Gight.  In  the  same  year  the  laird  led  a 
raid  upon  Turriff,  whither  he  came  with  his  three  sons  and 
many  another  Gordon,  oppressing  '  the  haill  toun '  with 
long  guns,  spears  and  pistolets.  William  Duffus  was  drawn 
forth  from  bed  in  his  sark  and  fled  away  for  fear  of  his  life,  shot 
at  *  with  pistolettis,  muscattis  and  hacquebuttis.'  A '  muscat,' 
better  aimed  than  the  others,  brought  him  down,  and  being 
loaded  in  generous  fashion,  lodged  nine  bullets  in  divers  parts 
of  his  body,  and  his  pitiful  complaint  to  the  privy  council 
describes  him  as  '  in  sic  danger  of  his  life  as  na  man  knawis 
quhat  hour  he  shall  die.' 

After  this  last  wickedness  Gight  crossed  the  border  and 
abode  for  a  while  beyond  the  reach  of  the  council's  feeble 
claws,  but  he  was  soon  at  home  again  and  undisturbed  by  the 
king's  writs,  for  the  good  reason  that  Gight  was  '  the  onley 
prinsepall  man  of  the  Earle  of  Huntleyes  howes,'  and  of 
Huntly  Sir  John  Carey  writes  that  f  there  is  no  man  living 
in  Scotland  with  more  power  to  harm  his  majesty  the  king.' 
In  his  very  death  Gight  was  at  strokes  with  the  law,  for  not- 
withstanding the  act  against  superstitious  and  popish  rites, 
one  George  Crawford  bore  a  crucifix  upon  a  spear  immediately 
before  the  corpse  the  whole  way  to  the  place  of  burial.  The 
naked  spear  alone  might  have  made  a  better  symbol  before 
the  body  of  the  laird  of  Gight. 

The  cadets  of  the  fifth  laird  were  another  worthy  brood. 
John  of  Ardlogie,  the  second  son,  was  in  the  Turriff  raid  and 
made  a  name  for  himself  as  leader  of  certain  deboshed  and  law- 
less limmers  calling  themselves  the  '  Societie  and  Companie  of 
Boyis,'  whom  zeal  for  the  Romish  religion  drove  about  the 
country  side  lifting  the  goods  of  such  neighbours  as  were  in 
spiritual  darkness.  Ardlogie  raided  and  was  raided  by  Mowat 
of  Balquholly,  made  private  war  on  Leask  of  Kelly,  his  brother's 
father-in-law,  and  was  concerned  in  the  murder  of  Francis 
Hay.  With  his  brother  and  his  sister's  son  he  raided  the 
lands  of  Sir  William  Keith  of  Balmuir,  who  being  a  '  civile 
obedient  and  ansuerable  subject,'  stayed  cannily  in  his  house 
when  Ardlogie  rode  sword  in  hand  up  and  down  his  green, 
provoking  him  to  come  forth  and  shouting  his  barbarous 
slogan  of  '  Up  thy  hairt,  Ardlogie  ! '  When  the  King  of 


THE  COCKS  OF  THE  NORTH    97 

Denmark  raised  levies  of  volunteers  in  Scotland  Ardlogie 
took  '  a  charge  '  in  Sinclair  of  Merkill's  regiment  and  pocketed 
the  Dane's  money  for  taking  his  men  towards  Germany.  The 
money  was  a  good  gift  easily  come  by,  and  Ardlogie  never  saw 
Germany  until  in  later  years,  after  he  had  shared  in  the 
Huntly  Gordons'  vengeance  on  Frendraught,  he  fled  there  in 
peril  of  his  neck,  never  to  see  Scotland  again.  Ardlogie's  sons 
were  Adam,  John,  Nathaniel  and  George.  Adam  followed 
the  sixth  laird  in  his  raids,  and  on  a  visit  to  Paris  was  run  through 
the  body  by  a  brother  Scot  whom  when  *  wery  drunk  '  he  was 
pursuing  in  the  open  street.  John  was  in  the  Frendraught 
raid,  and  was  the  murderer  of  Sergeant  Forsyth  of  Fothering- 
ham's  musketeers.  Nathaniel  was  a  cavalier  soldier  at  home 
and  abroad,  a  Faublas  in  jackboots  whose  exploits  in  love  and 
war  are  waiting  for  a  chronicler.  George  Gordon,  youngest 
of  the  Ardlogie  litter,  has  a  reasonable  claim  to  be  considered 
as  the  George  Gordon  who  attacked  two  brothers  Ferguson 
on  a  Sunday  in  1622,  killing  one  and  cutting  the  ear  from  the 
corpse  and  following  the  other  to  slash  away  (  ane  grite  peece 
of  his  harne  pane.'  The  fifth  laird's  third  son  William  was  in 
the  Turriff  raid  and,  mayhap,  was  killed  therein.  Patrick  the 
fourth  son  made  a  fair  record.  With  his  brother  Adam  he 
warred  with  Bannerman  of  Waterton.'  He  raided  the  Hays 
and  Leask.  In  1617  the  privy  council  desired  him  to  leave  the 
country,  but  we  do  not  hear  of  him  as  a  traveller.  He  gave 
George  Thomson,  who  was  riding  with  the  king's  warrant  in 
his  pocket,  *  cruel  and  deadlie  straiks '  with  his  pistol  butt. 
For  his  bastard  son  William  he  had  chosen  a  bride,  Margaret 
Cushnie,  whose  maiden  affections  were  set  on  Richard  Gordon 
who  had  earned  some  local  fame  by  '  the  fellown  and  cruell 
slaughter  of  John  Johnston.'  Patrick  Gordon's  men  came 
down  upon  the  Cushnies  and  carried  Margaret  away  on  a  horse 
behind  a  trooper.  Margaret  escaped  to  marry  Richard,  who 
taken  and  wounded  in  an  ambush  by  Gight's  men,  killed 
Patrick  with  his  own  favourite  weapon,  the  '  pistolett.'  The 
names  of  two  or  three  of  Patrick's  sons  are  preserved  in  the 
criminal  records  of  the  countryside.  Adam,  fifth  son  of 
Gight,  a  raider  and  rider  with  *  bent  hagbut '  and  drawn 
sword,  fell  to  the  pistol  of  his  comrade  Francis  Hay  of  Logie- 
rieve,  who  shot  him  in  pique  after  a  friendly  brawl  with  swords. 
Alexander,  the  sixth  son,  gives  us  a  taste  of  his  quality  in  his 
visit  to  the  house  of  Mr.  John  Mersair,  l  a  harmless,  innocent 


98  THE   ANCESTOR 

minister.'  Alexander  and  his  friends  broke  the  doors,  slashed 
the  minister's  horse  with  their  swords,  held  cocked  pistols  in 
at  the  windows  to  shoot  him  on  sight  and  were  firing  the 
house  over  him  when  help  came  up.  Robert,  the  seventh  son, 
was  in  the  Hay  and  Leask  raids  and  concerned  in  the  hanging 
of  a  Frendraught  tenant  at  Strathbogie.  From  the  fifth 
laird's  daughters  we  choose  Elspet  for  notice.  She  wedded 
with  James  Cheyne  of  Pennan,  and  the  worthy  pair  raided 
together  in  their  neighbours'  barns  and  fowl-houses.  One 
Petrie,  who  besought  Gight's  highspirited  daughter  to 
'  forbeir  such  unseamelie  forme  of  doing,'  brought  her  wrath 
upon  himself,  for  the  lady  of  Pennan  '  put  violent  hand  on 
him  and  schamefullie  and  unhonnestlie  strak  and  dang  him 
with  her  handis  and  feit  in  sindrie  pairtis  of  his  body  and 
left  him  for  deid.' 

We  come  to  George  Gordon,  sixth  laird  of  Gight.  Never 
were  the  family  traditions  more  safe  than  in  his  hands.  He 
thought  it  a  *  cryme  unpardonable  in  the  person  of  any  of  his  rank 
or  within  to  resset  or  schaw  favour  to  ony  person  aganis  whome 
he  beiris  querrell,'  and  his  life  was  ordered  within  the  bounds 
of  this  simple  creed.  In  1593  he  was  denounced  as  a  rebel, 
and  in  1610  he  earns  from  the  bishop  of  Moray  a  remarkable 
certificate  that  he  was  '  a  great  furderar  and  favourer  of 
peace.'  The  privy  council  removed  in  some  measure  this 
slur  upon  the  good  name  of  Gight  by  describing  him  as  {  a 
most  rebellious  and  disobedient  person,  who  by  a  concourse 
of  a  nombir  of  odious  crymes,  made  himself  in  a  kynd  eminent 
above  offendaris  of  the  heiehest  degree.'  He  was  deeply 
religious,  following  the  creed  which  would  most  conflict  with 
the  law  his  enemy,  and  declaring  his  profession  '  quhilk  is 
Catholick  Romane.'  His  feud  with  the  Hays  is  remarkable 
amongst  these  diversions  of  the  countryside  for  its  fierceness. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  Gight's  brother  Adam  had  come 
to  his  end  before  Francis  Hay's  pistol.  This  Francis  Hay 
was  within  three  days'  space  carried  away  by  Gight  and  his 
following  to  their  lodging  at  the  Bonny  Wife's  Inn  in  the 
Gallowgate  of  Aberdeen,  whence  the  Gordons  had  the  au- 
dacity to  issue  letters  to  their  kin  and  friends  inviting  them  to 
his  trial.  Many  barons  and  gentlemen  in  arms  answered  his 
summons,  and  the  wretched  Hay  was  condemned  in  a  packed 
court  by  the  sheriff-deputy  of  Aberdeen,  who  was,  it  goes 
without  saying,  a  gentleman  of  the  Gordon  name.  The 


THE   COCKS    OF   THE    NORTH         99 

doomed  man  was  led  out  of  a  back  door  to  *  a  hoill  betuix  tua 
mottis — quhair  they  crowned  thair  tragidie  with  so  butcherly- 
mangling  the  poore  gentilman  with  sex  severall  straikes  upoun 
his  shoulderis,  hind  head  and  neck,  as  the  lyke  hes  nevir  or 
seldome  bene  sene  or  hard.'  A  raid  followed  upon  the  Hays 
of  Brunthill,  who  had  sheltered  poor  Francis  Hay,  and  in  this 
Gight  fell  upon  and  all  but  slew  George  Hay  who  had  come 
out  unarmed  from  his  house  to  parley  with  the  raiders.  It 
is  amazing  to  read  that  Gight  was  still  beyond  the  law.  Privy 
council  and  king  strove  in  vain  to  bring  him  and  his  to  justice, 
but  in  the  end  the  king  was  content  to  make  Gight  and  the 
Hays  '  chop  hands '  together  in  a  truce  which  was  soon  broken. 

Gight's  next  achievement  is  more  domestic  in  its  nature. 
His  wife's  mother,  the  old  lady  Saltoun,  lying  at  point  of 
death,  made  a  will  which  was  not  to  his  liking.  Gight  rode 
at  once  to  meet  Patrick  Livingstone  who  had  drawn  this  will, 
and  remonstrated  with  him  in  his  best  manner,  '  protesting 
and  avowing  with  mony  horrible  aithes  that  he  sould  stryk 
ane  daigger  to  the  said  Patrickis  hairt  and  that  he  sould  cleive 
him  to  the  harne  pane  unles  he  causit  the  said  testament  ather 
to  be  nullit  or  reformit  to  his  contentment.'  Out  of  this 
matter,  Patrick  and  his  brother  came  hardly  with  their  lives, 
Gight  raging  against  them  like  a  mad  dog,  but  the  lady 
Saltoun's  money  was  lost  to  the  Gordons.  Sir  Harry  Wood 
of  Bonnyton,  Gight's  brother-in-law,  was  the  next  victim. 
This  blameless  man  was  sitting  in  the  parish  kirk  of  St.  Vigean's 
'  in  his  awne  dask,  in  a  very  modest  and  quyet  maner,'  when 
into  the  kirk  rushed  Gight  with  his  wolfish  clan  at  his  back, 
*  all  bodin  in  fear  of  wear,  with  swords,  long  dagours,  bufrell 
coites,  secreitts,  plait  sleives,  steil  hattis,  with  plait  stringis, 
gantelitts  '  and  the  like.  Sword  in  hand  they  rushed  up  the 
kirk  oversetting  the  women  and  children  at  prayer  and  took 
Bonnyton  prisoner  with  shouts  of  *  Traitour  be  tane.'  Sir 
Harry  was  hurried  to  his  own  house  of  Lethem  and  with 
dirks  at  his  throat  made  to  sign  a  bond  unread,  a  bond  '  con- 
taining diverse  gritt  soumes  of  money  and  uther  hard  condi- 
tions.' Wonderful  to  relate,  this  business  was  brought  home 
to  the  laird,  from  whom  a  small  fine  was  drawn  in  quittance 
of  the  affair. 

In  1623  we  hear  of  Gight  having  swindled  *  a  poore 
strangear '  a  Frenchwoman,  a  governess  and  teacher  to  his 
daughter,  of  her  fee  and  charges  spent  during  several  years 


ioo  THE   ANCESTOR 

in  bringing  up  the  young  lady.  In  1631  he  attacked  Mr. 
William  Murray  in  the  kirk  of  Monfuthe  after  sermon  time, 
and  in  the  same  year  he  raised  an  armed  gang  to  kill  John 
Leith  of  Harthill.  In  1639  he  was  'm  tne  Turriff  raid.  In 
1640  the  chapter  of  Gight's  offences  is  closed.  One  Captain 
Betoun  took  him  a  prisoner  as  a  papist  and  outstander  against 
the  good  cause,  and  we  have  here  to  our  wonder  the  description 
of  this  ruffian  as  *  a  seiklie  tender  man.'  In  November  1640 
*  old  Geicht '  died  in  ward  in  Edinburgh,  and  a  captain  and 
thirty-two  soldiers  rode  to  Gight  and  took  the  surrender  of 
the  house.  Of  the  sixth  laird's  younger  sons  John  rode  raiding 
with  his  nephew  the  eighth  laird,  and  Alexander  shames  his 
family  by  having  no  specific  villainy  recorded  against  his 
name. 

George  Gordon,  the  seventh  laird  of  Gight,  was  '  a  young 
boy '  in  1618  when  he  followed  his  father  in  the  attack  upon 
Patrick  Livingstone,  upon  whom  he  '  bent'  his  pistol  with  intent 
to  kill.  It  will  be  noted  that  the  pistol  and  the  hagbut  were 
weapons  which  no  private  man  could  carry  lawfully,  but  in  the 
house  of  Gight  they  were  familiar  wear  from  the  cradle.  His 
violence  had  some  legitimate  outlet  in  the  service  of  King 
Charles,  for  whom  he  raised  and  led  a  troop  of  horse  and  com- 
pany of  foot.  In  1 640  he  was  taken  prisoner  in  Old  Aberdeen, 
lying  in  his  naked  bed,  but  a  Gordon  of  Gight  was  slippery  to 
hold  and  tricking  his  mounted  captors  he  fled  away  from  them 
by  his  own  speed  of  foot  and  went  over  sea  to  Germany,  where 
he  must  have  had  many  pleasant  tales  of  the  home  life  of  Gight 
to  tell  to  his  kinsman  Colonel  John  Gordon,  the  assassin  of  Wal- 
lenstein.  In  1642  King  Charles  gave  him  a  passport  and  letter 
of  recommendation,  which  letters  style  Gight  *  this  excellent 
man.'  He  was  home  again  in  1643  and  in  1644  took  free 
quarters  in  Banff,  carrying  away  with  him  the  money  in  the 
possession  of  the  collectors  of  taxes.  The  same  year  saw  his 
house  of  Gight  surrendered  to  the  Covenanters  and  he  himself 
taken  prisoner  to  Aberdeen,  where  he  broke  prison.  About 
1648  he  died. 

His  son  George,  the  eighth  laird,  made  a  stout  attempt 
to  rob  his  own  father  of  his  lands,  whilst  the  father  was  wander- 
ing abroad  in  Germany.  In  1644  he  led  a  band  of  cavaliers 
to  Montrose,  where  they  took  the  provost  prisoner  and  made 
great  plunder,  but  a  few  days  after  old  Gight  the  father  had 
plundered  Banff.  When  the  father  surrendered  his  house  in 


THE    COCKS    OF   THE   NORTH        101 

the  May  of  1644,  young  Gight  leapt  the  park  dykes  on  horse- 
back and  got  safely  away.     In  1645  he  was  wounded  at  Alford. 

The  good  old  days  of  rugging  and  reiving  pass  away  at 
last,  and  we  have  a  ninth  laird  of  Gight,  of  whom  we  can  but 
say  that  he  was  a  Commissioner  of  Supply.  His  only  child,  a 
daughter  Mary,  married  Alexander  Davidson,  younger  of 
Newton,  of  a  family  of  advocates  in  Aberdeen.  Alexander, 
fourth  son  of  the  marriage,  became  Alexander  Gordon  of 
Gight.  He  was  drowned  in  the  river  Ythan  whilst  taking, 
amongst  the  melted  snow  on  a  January  day,  a  bath  which 
Mr.  Bulloch  would  qualify  as  suicide.  We  are  not  concerned 
to  defend  the  family  honour  of  these  degenerate  Davidson 
lairds,  but  the  obituary  notice  which  described  Gight  as  '  an 
honest,  inoffensive  gentleman '  could  hardly  have  recom- 
mended him  to  the  shades  of  his  mother's  forefathers.  With 
his  son  George  the  male  line  is  again  broken.  This  George 
was  a  melancholy  creature,  and  of  his  drowning  himself  in 
the  Bath  canal  there  seems  little  doubt.  His  eldest  daughter 
succeeded  to  Gight.  A  '  stout,  dumpy,  coarse  looking  woman,' 
the  Aberdeenshire  heiress  figured  at  Bath,  and  met  and,  to 
her  sorrow,  married  the  Honourable  John  Byron,  a  handsome 
bankrupt.  Gight  was  sold  in  1787,  and  its  hernes  flew  over  to 
Haddo,  that  the  prophecy  of  Thomas  the  Rymer  might  be 
fulfilled.  The  last  lady  of  Gight  died  alone  at  Newstead  in 
1811  in  a  fit  of  rage  over  an  upholsterer's  bill,  and  her  son  the 
poet,  who  had  vilified  her  in  her  life,  mourned  her  in  death 
with  the  mourning  of  an  ingrained  poseur. 

It  is  possible  that  this  record  of  this  house  of  Gight  may 
furnish  pleasant  material  for  the  maker  of  romances.  In 
skilled  hands  the  savagery  of  the  story  might  be  softened  to 
reckless  adventure,  but  to  the  historian  who  must  not  pick 
and  choose  it  is  a  chronicle  of  unrelieved  brutality.  A  laird 
of  Gight  falls  at  Flodden  for  his  country,  and  more  than  one 
Gordon  of  this  house  finds  a  plunderer's  life  under  the  banner 
of  King  Charles  his  best  refuge  from  the  Covenanters  who 
have  no  love  for  the  Gordons.  Yet,  when  all  is  told,  these 
Gordons  of  Gight  are  men  without  a  fatherland,  the  enemies  of 
their  countrymen,  of  their  neighbours,  and  of  their  kinsfolk. 
They  are  thieves  without  acquiring  the  honour  of  thieves. 
In  their  rustic  wars  they  fall  in  force  upon  lonely  men,  upon 
unarmed  men,  upon  women  and  children.  Of  fair  fight  we 
hear  little,  but  much  of  assassination  and  cowardly  waylaying. 


102  THE   ANCESTOR 

They  defy  king  and  council,  but  king  and  council  are  weak, 
and  Huntly  and  a  confederation  of  rogues  in  rusty  plates  are 
at  hand  to  back  their  impudent  defiance. 

Her  remote  descent  from  such  ancestors  as  these  moved 
poor  provincial  Mrs.  Byron  to  furious  boasting  and  con- 
temning of  the  southern  nobility.  But  although  there  should 
be  something  of  sadness  in  the  end  of  an  old  line,  and  the  sale 
of  its  rooftree,  we  feel  little  of  it  in  reading  the  story  of 
Gight.  That  the  headship  of  such  a  race  should  be  carried 
by  a  lass  to  the  dismal  Davidsons  and  that  Gordon  of  Gight 
should  end  with  a  tawdry  scold  is  but  a  seemly  reaction  from 
the  blood  and  dirt  of  the  earlier  history. 

O.  B. 


SKOAL   TO   THE   NORSEMAN  ! 

IN  every  craft  the  style  is  the  man.  The  genealogist  must 
acknowledge  it  equally  with  those  who  practise  the  sister 
arts  of  romance  writing  and  public  advertisement.  As  Gilbert 
Clay,  the  headsman,  explained  to  Annie  Protheroe  in  a  certain 
Bab  Ballad,  *  famous  operators  vary  very  much  in  touch.' 
A  clean  review-copy  of  a  genealogical  study  singular  in  its 
novelty  ofj  treatment  sets  us  recalling  the  accredited  styles 
which  most  obtain. 

It  is  our  deliberate  belief  that  the  grand  staccato  manner  of 
the  school  of  Leipsic,  as  shown  in  the  Almanack  de  Gotha, 
alone  maintains  the  nobility  of  the  continent  in  its  privileges. 
On  the  day  when  Herr  Justus  Perthes  adopts  a  more  collo- 
quial style,  on  that  day  we  are  persuaded  that  Herren  Bebel 
and  Liebknecht  will  break  into  the  spence  and  turn  adrift  the 
mediatized  princedoms  and  the  countships  entitled  to  the 
addition  of  erlaucht.  The  Almanack  de  Gotha  is  the  imperial 
Tokay  of  the  peerage  books,  and  old  Tokay,  unlike  Mr.  Swi- 
veller's  beer,  may  be  tasted  in  sips — 

DUDELSACKPFEIFERSHAUSEN. 

Reformed — chateau  de  Hohenpfeifersheim  pres  Hamelin — Ancienne  maison 
f£odale  dont  Petrus  Pfeifer,  ch<ttelain  de  Schloss  Pfefferkorn,  vers  890  est  cit£ 
comme  aYeul.  La  filiation  remonte  a  Peter  Pfeifer  von  Hamelin,  dit  Struw- 
wetyeter.  Acquisition  des  seigneuries  de  Dudelsackpfeifershausen  et  de  Hohen- 
pfeifersheim vers  1561.  Reichsgraf,  Vienne  5  fevr.  1705.  .  .  . 

#  *  *  *  *  * 

But  we  check  ourselves  in  time.  There  is  probably  such  an 
offence  as  Almanachsbeleidigung,  and  the  penalty  cannot  be 
less  than  two  years  in  a  fortress  with  deprivation  of  civil  rights. 
We  are  safer  in  imitating  the  franker  manner  of  our  old- 
fashioned  English  peerage.  The  wholly  imaginary  earldom  of 
Cookmaydensfield  may  be  selected  for  an  example  of  this 
manner.  With  plentiful  models  before  us  we  should  begin 
our  tale  in  this  wise — 

COOK,  EARL  OF  COOKMAYDENSFIELD. 

The  founder  of  the  illustrious  house  of  Cook  of  Cookmaydensfield,  SIR 
HILDEBRANDUS  DE  CoQCiGRUE,  accompanied  William  the  Conqueror  in  his 
memorable  invasion  of  England.  He  was  a  knight  of  gigantic  stature,  and 
famous  for  his  strategy  and  knowledge  of  the  military  arts.  The  Bayeui 

103 


io4  THE   ANCESTOR 

tapestry  contains  a  figure  of  him  in  the  act  of  persuading  Duke  William  at 
Bayeux  that  unmounted  men  would  be  preferable  for  the  expedition.  He 
built  the  castle  of  Lampreypool  in  Gloucestershire.  From  the  Conqueror 
he  received  no  less  than  four  hundred  manors  in  the  county  of  Rutland  as 
appears  by  Domesday  Book,  a  record  which  eulogizes  his  military  qualities. 
It  appears  by  a  MS.  genealogy  under  the  hand  of  Gregory  King,  Lancaster 
Herald,  that  he  married  an  Anglo-Saxon  lady  of  high  birth,  GODIVA,  relict 
of  LEOFRIC,  EARL  OF  MERCIA.  Holding  his  lands  by  the  tenure  of  presenting 
the  king  yearly  with  a  dish  of  stewed  lampreys  he  fulfilled  his  office  in  1135, 
when  the  king,  before  dying  of  indigestion,  is  related  by  Ingulphus  to  have 
hastily  expressed  the  hope  that  his  father's  faithful  servant  might  be  boiled, 
a  wish  which  four  knights  in  attendance  upon  the  king  at  once  carried  out. 
His  monument,  which  remained  in  the  nave  of  Westminster  Abbey  until  its 
restoration  by  Sir  Gilbert  Scott,  represented  him  in  full  armour  with  a  turn- 
spit at  his  feet.  The  mailed  thumb  of  the  right  gauntlet  pressed  against  the 
nose  of  the  effigy  symbolizes  his  reluctance  to  join  the  first  crusade.  From 
him  descended  in  an  unbroken  line — 

*  *  *  #  *  * 

From  such  a  gallant  opening  our  old-fashioned  peerage 
book  carries  us  towards  the  peer  of  Queen  Anne's  creation, 
whose  eminence  and  honours,  whose  progress  in  the  favour 
of  his  sovereign  and  the  esteem  of  his  fellow  countrymen,  are 
touched  in  for  us  with  broad  brush  strokes. 

The  Complete  Peerage  under  COOKMAYDENSFIELD  may  be 
consulted  for  an  example  of  another  and  more  modern  method, 
wherein  a  rill  of  concise  statement  flows  above  a  savoury  sedi- 
ment of  notes,  after  the  literary  manner  of  M.  Pierre  Bayle,  as 
employed  in  his  great  Dictionary.  For  the  distinguished  author 
of  the  Complete  Peerage  Hildebrandus  and  his  immediate  de- 
scendants are  shadows  who  have  no  place  in  his  scheme  of 
peerage-making,  save  perhaps  for  passing  reference  in  one  of 
those  notes  whose  piquancy  goes  far  to  explain  the  high  price 
with  which  the  Complete  Peerage  is  honoured  in  booksellers' 
catalogues.  The  Complete  Peerage  concerns  itself  only  with 
peers,  and  the  house  of  Cookmaydensfield  would  probably 
find  itself  commemorated  something  after  the  following 
fashion  : — 

COOKMAYDENSFIELD. 

i.  Jonas  Cook,  4*  of  Accepted  Cook,  an  em- 
*  pirical  physician  of  some  notoriety,1  and  a  leader 
of  the  Fifth  Monarchy  men,  by  Jane,2  d.  of  — 
Potkin,  was  b.  29  May  1670  in  Crutched  Friars.3  He  was  a 
Levant  merchant  and  amassed  a  large  sum  by  a  project  for 
carrying  Welsh  coal  by  sea  to  Newcastle.  M.P.  for  Old 


SKOAL   TO   THE    NORSEMAN          105 

Sarum  1701,  and  for  Bramber  1703-5.  He  was  Deputy 
Paymaster  General  to  the  forces  1736-42.*  He  was  cr.  12 
Jan.  I7o£.5  Earl  of  Cookmaydensfield  in  Berkshire  and 
Viscount  Cook  of  Lampreypool.6  He  m.  19  Sep.  1702  Jane, 
eld.  d.  and  coh.  of  Geoffrey  Penywyse,  fifteenth  earl  of  Pound- 
fullish.  She  also  was  b.  1681,  d.  in  Curzon  St.,  Mayfair, 
3  May  1770.  He  d.  I  April  1753  and  was  b.  at  Cookmay- 
densfield 3  April  (M.I.). 

1  See  Hearne's  Collectanea,  iii.  46,  for  his  description  as  a  strolling  quack- 
salver.   He  is  there  said  to  have  risen  in  the  world  by  his  prescribing  for  a  poodle 
of  Lady  Castlemaines. 

2  For  an  account  of  her  intrigue  with  Samuel  Pepys,  who  took  her  with  her 
husband  to  dinner  at  the  Cherry  Garden,  see  the  Diary  (Wheatley's  edition), 
ix.  22,  23,  146. 

3  The  legitimacy  of  his  birth  has  been  questioned  (Genealogist,  new  ser. 
iii.  41). 

4  At  this  time  his  portrait  was  painted  by  Kent  in  the  character  of  Moses, 
as  an  altarpiece  for  his  private  chapel  at  Cookmaydensfield.     The  picture  is 
commemorated  by  Dean  Swift : — 

See  Cook,  who  with  one  greasy  paw 
Thumbs  the  two  tables  of  the  Law, 
Whilst  t'other  bilks  the  Eighth  Commandment 
Of  sixpence  for  the  soldier's  hand  meant. 

8  *  Such  were  the  times,  such  were  the  occasions,  which  saw  a  minister  of  the 
crown  a  suppliant  and  purchaser  of  the  favour  of  a  corrupt  and  shameless  office- 
bearer '  (Macaulay,  Essays,  i.  29). 

6  For  an  account  of  the  forgery  by  Gregory  King,  Lancaster  Herald,  of  his- 
pedigree  from  the  extinct  family  of  Coqcigrue  of  Lampreypool,  see  J.  H.  Round's 
Peerage  Studies,  pp.  476-7. 


For  the  genealogy  of  a  private  family  treated  in  the  hardy 
Norse  manner  we  have  before  us  Major  Latham  C.  M.  Blacker's 
history  of  his  family,  the  Blackers  of  Carrickblacker.  Mere 
records  trace  that  family  to  a  sufficiently  respectable  origin. 
A  Captain  Valentine  Blacker,  an  Englishman  as  may  be  guessed,, 
but  hitherto  of  unknown  parentage,  purchased  in  1660  the 
manor  of  Carrowbrack,  since  called  Carrick  Blacker,  which 
manor  appears  to  be  still  in  his  descendants'  hands.  Three 
of  these  Blackers  were  sheriffs  of  their  county  of  Armagh,  and 
many  more  of  them  have  served  in  India  and  elsewhere  with 
credit  to  their  stock. 

At  that  sprouting  time  of  ancestral  legends,  the  early 
Victorian  age,  the  family  of  Blacker  became  dissatisfied  with 


106  THE    ANCESTOR 

their  respectable  pedigree  from  Captain  Valentine.  Such 
monstrous  growths  as  the  pedigree  of  Coulthart  the  banker 
from  Coulthartus  the  lieutenant  of  Agricola  made  the 
squires  and  squireens  uneasy  in  their  shadow.  A  coat  of 
arms  of  an  English  family  of  Blacker  had  been  used  by 
them,  after  the  custom  of  Irish  families  with  English  names, 
a  shield  derived,  no  doubt,  as  such  bearings  usually  were 
and  are  derived,  from  some  Alphabet  of  Arms,  and  of  its  origin 
they  had  been  incurious.  But  the  appetite  for  family  legend 
took  them,  and  there  were  those  at  hand  to  satisfy  it. 

The  new  pedigree  of  Blacker  could  not  match  with  that  of 
Coulthart,  from  which  it  differs  even  as  the  sketch  of  '  Crest 
and  Motto '  provided  by  the  heraldic  stationer  for  three  half- 
crowns,  differs  from  the  coloured  painting  of  arms,  crest, 
helmet  and  motto  illuminated  on  parchment  and  handsomely 
framed  for  thirty-two  and  six.  The  Blacker  of  that  day  was 
either  more  grudging  or  more  cautious  than  Mr.  Coulthart. 
We  have  no  long  line  of  Blackers,  chiefs  of  their  name  and 
house,  perishing  lavishly  on  fields  of  renown,  the  props  of 
kings,  the  builders  of  minsters. 

But  in  boldness  of  motive  the  rough  sketch  of  their  ancestry 
afforded  the  Blackers  yields  nothing  to  Mr.  Coulthart's  em- 
blazoned scroll.  Without  pettily  niggling  inquiries  into  the 
birth  and  parentage  of  the  patriarch  Valentine,  the  genea- 
logist's arm  plunged  deep  into  history  and  brought  up  out  of 
Clio's  lucky  bag  an  ancestor  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting. 

Blacker  being  a  surname  deriving  itself  as  a  rule  from  a 
humble  calling,  that  of  the  bleacher,  and  no  one  of  the  several 
English  families  of  that  name  having  come  to  any  celebrity, 
the  search  for  a  great  housefather  on  the  English  side  was  an 
unprofitable  one,  but  the  records  of  Ireland  herself  yielded 
BLACAIRE,  the  son  of  Godfrey,  one  of  the  Norse  rulers  of 
Dublin  in  the  tenth  century.  Little  is  known  of  Blacaire, 
but  that  little  has  the  local  colour  of  his  period.  He  smote 
Muircheartach,  a  wild  Irish  chieftain,  with  the  sword,  and  by 
the  sword  of  another  breechless  hero  he  perished  in  A.D.  946, 
at  the  battle  of  Ath  Cliath.  He  left  a  son  Sihtric,  of  whom 
nothing  more  is  known. 

To  the  clear  sight  of  the  genealogist  of  the  bold  eighteen- 
thirties  the  truth  was  no  longer  hidden.  That  Blacaire  the 
illustrious  was  direct  ancestor  and  founder  of  the  squires  of 
Carrick  Blacker  needed  no  more  demonstration,  and  the 


SKOAL   TO   THE   NORSEMAN         107 

Ulster  or  Garter  seems  to  have  commemorated  the  discovery 
of  Blacaire  by  granting  a  shield  of  arms  which  should  be  worthy 
of  his  line — a  remarkable  composition  which  we  will  endeavour 
to  describe  in  the  sacred  language  of  the  heralds  as  *  In  a  field 
argent  gutte  de  sang  (from  which  the  Irish  host  has  prudently 
withdrawn)  Blacaire  himself  victorious  and  -proper  with  an 
axe  in  one  hand  and  a  sword  in  the  other.' 

From  Blacaire  the  narrative  of  the  pedigree  of  1836  pro- 
ceeded with  a  leap  to  Captain  Valentine  Blacker,  who  died  in 
1677,  the  intermediate  descents  being  proved  by  the  fact  that 
Blacaire's  name  is  sometimes  written  Blaccard,  whilst  the 
patronymic  of  the  Carrick  Blacker  family  was  *  still  pro- 
nounced frequently  by  the  lower  classes  Blackard,'  a  pronun- 
ciation which,  having  the  elements  of  disrespect  within  it,  we 
hope  has  not  survived  the  thirties. 

The  whole  pedigree  of  1836  is  reprinted  for  us  by  Major 
Latham  Blacker,  whose  family  has  seen  the  record  of  Blacaire 
and  his  deeds  shouldered  out  of  genealogical  annuals  by  the 
number  of  landed  gents  with  a  pedigree  for  printing.  '  These 
pedigrees,'  as  Major  Blacker  remarks  in  his  scornful  Norse 
manner,  *  of  interest,  no  doubt,  to  their  possessors,  possess  no 
interest  whatever  to  the  general  reader  or  student  of  archaeo- 
logical research.'  Certainly  no  general  reader  worthy  of  the 
name  would  pass  by  the  story  of  Blacaire,  and  the  student  of 
archaeological  research  will  be  grateful  to  Major  Blacker  for 
carrying  this  pedigree,  fragile  and  characteristic  of  1836  as 
wax  fruit  under  glass,  safely  into  the  twentieth  century. 

Pretty  it  is  to  see  Major  Blacker  carry  modern  research  and 
method  to  the  support  of  his  venerable  pedigree.  His  method 
should  be  carefully  noted  by  those  who  suspect  Norse  blood 
in  their  own  veins.  The  Saxon  method  we  all  know,  thanks 
to  Mr.  Rye  and  others,  who  have  given  away  so  many  of  the 
secrets  of  genealogy.  In  this  case  it  would  indicate  a  diligent 
search  amongst  English  wills  and  parish  registers  for  the  birth 
and  parentage  of  Captain  Valentine  Blacker,  but  it  is  not  in 
this  grovelling  spirit  that  Major  Blacker  takes  the  field.  A 
flight  as  of  the  Norse  war-raven  takes  him  straight  to  the 
feet  of  his  royal  ancestor,  and  from  him  we  begin  our  saga 
to  this  inspiriting  tune. 

The  history  of  this  family  is  interwoven  with  Norse,  English,  and  Irish 
records  to  a  remarkable  extent. 

The  name  is  derived  from  Blacaire,  son  of  Godfred,  son  of  Ivar  (or  Imhar), 


io8  THE   ANCESTOR 

son  of  Regnar  Lodbrog,  King  of  Denmark,  who  was  descended  from  Odin, 
King  of  Asgardia,  circa  76  B.C.,  descendant  of  Eric,  King  of  Scandanavia,  circa. 
2000  B.C. 

The  Four  Masters,  it  is  true,  make  Godfrey  grandson  and 
not  son  of  Ivar  Beinlaus,  but  their  information  can  hardly  be 
received  with  the  same  credit  as  a  statement  from  a  member 
of  the  family,  and  for  several  pages  of  Major  Blacker's  work 
we  enjoy  ourselves  with  Olaf  of  the  Sandale,  with  Olaf  son  of 
Godfrey,  with  Sitric  Caech  and  Sitric  Mac  BLACAIRE. 

But  Valentine  Blacker,  who  died  in  1677,  a  date  which  we 
mention  almost  apologetically  as  we  meet  it  on  our  return 
journey  from  Eric,  King  of  Scandinavia,  circa  2000  B.C.,  came 
to  Ireland  from  England,  so  that  sooner  or  later  we  must  find 
a  descendant  of  BLACAIRE  who  will  cross  the  sea  and  beget  the 
English  branch.  We  are  left  unhampered  in  our  arrange- 
ments by  the  fact  that  Sitric,  the  only  known  child  of  BLA- 
CAIRE, disappears  from  all  records.  Here  the  Saxon  genea- 
logist would  be  hopelessly  at  fault,  and  foolishly  anxious  about 
the  fate  of  Sitric.  But  this  very  disappearance  from  earth,  or 
from  the  annals  of  the  Four  Masters  at  the  least,  encourages 
Major  Blacker's  confidence. 

It  is  in  the  Norse  spirit,  as  we  have  said,  that  he  approaches 
his  task.  Where  the  Saxon  would  grope  for  records  with 
dates  and  facts  the  Norns  whisper  to  Major  Blacker  the  road 
which  Sitric  has  taken  over  the  swan's  path,  and  the  Vala 
murmurs  in  his  ear, 4  Try  Domesday  ! ' 

What  inference  are  we  to  draw  from  the  disappearance 
of  Sitric  ?  We  hazard  that  he  lies  in  a  bog  with  an  Irish  skene 
in  him,  but  Major  Blacker  has  the  right  answer — 

The  inference  is  that  he  migrated  to  Yorkshire. 

Of  ourselves  we  should  never  have  divined  it,  but  once 
it  is  pointed  out  to  us  we  feel  we  are  on  the  right  track,  for 
Sitric's  uncle  Olaf  had  been  in  the  defeat  of  the  Danes  at  Brun- 
anburh,  which  alone  would  make  Yorkshire  seem  a  second 
home  to  his  family. 

Some  hundred  and  forty  years  roll  by  with  no  news  of 
Sitric  or  his  descendants,  and  we  come  to  the  year  of  the 
compilation  of  Domesday  Book,  a  work  which  contains  in 
Major  Blacker's  opinion  'a  very  valuable  mine  of  information.' 

More  than  that,  it  contains  Blacaire. 


SKOAL   TO   THE    NORSEMAN         109 

Major  Blacker  has  him  safe  enough,  although  the  entries 
are  difficult  to  understand,  and  in  considering  the  specimen 
entry  as  printed  for  us  our  respect  for  the  Domesday  labours 
of  Mr.  Horace  Round  is  notably  increased. 

In  Torp.  7.  Iretune  hbr.  Carle  7  Blacre  iiij  car.  tre.  7  dim.  ad  Gld.  ubi.  pots, 
ee  ii  car.  ne  ut  Wills  7  waste  e  TRF  ual  XVI  sol.  in  XVI  dim. 

'  The  portion  relating  to  Yorkshire,'  says  Major  Blacker, 
1  has  unfortunately  not  yet  been  translated ;  but  the  sense 
of  the  above  extract  is  that  one  Carle  Blacre  held  four  hides 
of  land  ;  the  sign  which  looks  like  a  seven  is  not  one,  but  a  sort 
of  mark  between  the  paragraphs.' 

The  sign  *  which  looks  like  a  seven  '  is  generally  interpreted 
as  signifying  et  or  '  and,'  but  as  this  theory  would  rob  us  of 
Carle  Blacre  and  give  us  Carle  and  Blacre,  both  surnameless, 
we  hasten  to  disavow  it  and  pass  on  to  the  entries  under  Atune, 
which  give  by  Major  Blacker's  method  a  brother  to  Carle 
Blacre,  who  shall  be  called  Blacre  Ghilander  or  Ghilander 
Blacre,  and  those  under  Snechintune,  which  give  us  plain  Blacre 
for  a  third  member  of  the  house.  It  is  a  recognisable  charac- 
teristic of  ancient  families,  such  as  the  Coultharts  and  the 
Blackers,  that  family  surnames  derived  from  the  name  of 
their  heroic  patriarch  are  invariably  adopted  by  them  some 
centuries  before  the  rest  of  the  countrymen  recognize  the 
convenience  of  the  system.  Had  he  followed  the  usage  of  his 
fellows,  Sitric  Mac  Blacaire's  son  would  have  styled  himself 
in  his  turn  Mac  Sitric,  by  which  means  the  memory  of  Bla- 
caire  might  have  been  lost.  That  he  followed  more  modern 
customs  is  shown  by  our  discoveries  of  his  Yorkshire  descend- 
ants, each  with  the  family  surname  in  his  possession. 

Concerning  the  Atune  and  Snechintune  Blacres : — 

Here  again  we  find  the  name  transformed,  no  doubt,  by  the  Norman  scribe, 
to  whom  the  spelling  of  the  old  Norse  names  must  have  been  a  puzzle  ;  but  still 
to  the  experienced  antiquarian  it  is  quite  enough  to  establish  the  link  with  the 
Blacaire  whose  elder  brother,  Anlaff,  made  his  peace  with  Edmund  after  the 
death  of  Athelstane,  and  was  baptized  in  940  and  granted  Northumbria. 

The  italics  and  the  admiration  are  ours.  Breathless  as 
we  may  be  with  following  the  Norse  method  of  estimating 
evidence,  the  next  leap  clears  even  a  wider  gap. 

*  To  go  further  we  must  turn  to  the  parish  of  Great  Sandal 
near  Wakefield.'  We  take  our  orders  and  turn  without  ques- 

H 


no  THE   ANCESTOR 

tioning  or  reasoning  why.  The  Norse  method  affects  us 
like  this. 

To  Sandal  Castle,  which  Major  Blacker  suggests  may  have 
been  named  after  Olaf  of  the  Sandal,  Blacaire's  cousin,  we 
have  turned,  and  to  the  Testamenta  Eboraciensa  (as  Major 
Blacker  will  have  it)  of  the  Surtees  Society.  Here  we  have 
Blackers  at  will,  a  John  in  1404,  a  Thomas  in  1460,  and  an- 
other Thomas  in  1499,  with  his  children  Richard  and  John. 
Their  direct  descent  from  '  Carle  Blacre '  of  1086  seems  to 
need  no  proofs.  That  they  in  their  turn  are  ancestors  of 
Valentine  Blacker,  who  was  in  Armagh  under  Charles  II.,  is 
proved  to  the  hilt  by  the  facts  that  Canon  Blacker  has  an 
ancient  carved  box  with  the  date  1441  and  letters  which  seem 
like  J,  or  T.B.,  and  that  Dom  Joan  de  Castro,  in  a  letter  of 
1598  to  the  Earl  of  Essex,  says  that  he  sends  it  by  the  hands  of 
*  an  Englishman  called  Blacar.' 

This  spelling  of  *  Blacar,'  although  by  a  Portuguese,  en- 
couraged Major  Blacker  to  a  happy  explanation  of  the  reason 
why  his  own  family  have  relinquished  the  spelling  of  the  Four 
Masters.  The  reason  is  that — 

Cromwell,  after  the  settlement  of  Ireland,  ordered  that  all  Irishmen  should 
take  the  name  of  a  colour,  such  as  grey,  white,  etc.,  or  the  name  of  a  place. 
Valentine,  to  conform  with  this  law,  must  simply  have  changed  one  or  two 
letters ;  and  Dom  Joan's  '  Englishman,'  not  having  come  to  Ireland,  thus  es- 
caped the  rule. 

But  Cromwell's  laws  were  for  the  wild  Irish,  the  surnames 
of  English  settlers  were  not  to  be  tampered  with,  and  we  cannot 
help  guessing  that  Dom  Joan's  Englishman  probably  escaped 
this  '  curse  of  Cromwell,'  not  so  much  by  refraining  from  a 
visit  to  Ireland  as  by  belonging  to  an  earlier  generation. 
Major  Blacker,  it  is  true,  places  the  date  of  this  Elizabethan 
letter  at  1698  and  not  1598,  but  this  is  the  mere  indifference 
of  a  Viking  to  the  chronology  of  Saxon  shopkeepers. 

A  chart  pedigree  from  '  Eric,  2000  B.C.,  King  of  Scandi- 
navia, temp.  Serug  temp.  Abraham  ! '  follows  Major  Blacker's 
remarkable  work,  so  that  we  are  enabled  to  give  our  readers 
some  idea  of  the  Scandinavian  system  for  the  recording  of 
pedigrees. 


SKOAL   TO   THE  NORSEMAN 


in 


/Testamenta\  John,  1404 
VEboraciensa/   Blaker 


(Blaker)  Thomas,  1331 
(Normanton) 


xii  Century        f  Ricardus 
Cartulary  I  Baldwin 

St.  Benedict's-{  Walterus 
Abbey,  | 

Whitby  V.  Godfridus 

Blacre 


Thomas,  1409 


Blakar,  of  Blakargaard, 
1349  A.D.,  Norway 


Sweyn  Blaca  of  Blacatoritona 

Gt.  Roll  of  the  Pipe,  21  Hen.  II. 
Dev.  &  Somerset,  1174-75 


Ghilander  Blacre 


Blacre  1086          Blacre 
(Domesday  Book) 
Wigstun  Hundred, 
Yorks 


Sitric  Mac  Blacar 
(to  Yorks) 


Blacaire,  si.  946  A.D. 
K.  of  Dublin 

To  the  Saxon  genealogist  the  form  presents  difficulties- 
but  when  we  remember  that  the  Norseman's  pedigree  was 
chanted  aloud  by  the  scalds,  we  recognize  dimly  in  this  curious 
chart  suggestions  for  the  necessary  musical  notation. 

Such  a  pedigree  should  end  with  a  coat  of  arms,  but  the 
mass  of  quarterings  accumulated  during  a  history  of  four 
thousand  years  have  proved  without  doubt  a  stumblingblock 
to  the  heraldic  artist,  and  we  must  be  content  with  a  list  of 
the  principal  quarterings  beginning  with  BLACKER,  Scotland, 
and  Scandinavia  !  That  such  an  armorial  birthright  should 
have  been  long  neglected  by  the  Blackers  of  Carrick  Blacker 
in  favour  of  the  English  shield  of  some  obscure  Blackers  whom 
even  our  author's  ingenuity  cannot  bring  in  to  his  family  chart, 
makes  a  pitiful  example  of  ancestral  heedlessness. 


*  Let  no  one  deem,'  said  the  late  Professor  Freeman, '  that, 
because  a  false  pedigree  is  a  thing  to  be  eschewed  and  scouted,, 
therefore  a  true  pedigree  is  a  thing  to  be  despised.  A  true 
pedigree,  be  it  long  or  short,  is  a  fact.' 


ii2  THE   ANCESTOR 

Major  Blacker 's  pedigree  is  certainly  a  long  one,  the  longest 
we  have  been  privileged  to  examine.  To  Major  Blacker,  who 
tells  his  tale  with  a  transparent  honesty  not  to  be  mistaken,  it 
is  also  a  fact.  We  raise  the  mead  horn,  and  cry  respectfully, 
"Skoal  to  the  Viking!' 

OSWALD    BARRON. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   COSTUME 

THE  lack  of  English  paintings  and  illuminations  of  the  latter 
half  of  the  fifteenth  century  makes  us  fall  back  for  pic- 
tures of  costume  upon  the  foreign  work  nearest  to  our  coasts. 
Next  to  work  by  English  hands  we  could  have  nothing  better 
than  the  superb  chronicle  books  made  for  Edward  IV.  by 
Flemish  hands  about  1480,  and  bearing  his  arms  and  white  rose 
badge  in  the  margins.  From  one  of  these  we  draw  our  illus- 
trations which  deal  with  the  history  of  the  reign  of  Richard  II. 
of  England. 

In  an  earlier  article  we  spoke  of  the  curious  simplicity  of 
the  costume  of  the  thirteenth  century.  In  the  pictures  from 
Matthew  Paris's  lives  of  the  two  Offas,  we  see  but  few  forms 
of  dress  and  arms.  But  here  in  the  fifteenth  century  the 
dominant  note  is  diversity  of  form  and  colour  to  the  point  of 
bewilderment.  The  hats  alone  can  hardly  be  reckoned — 
round,  sugar-loaf,  foolscap,  with  every  variety  of  turned-up 
edge,  high  and  low,  plain  and  nicked,  or  cut  into  fantastic 
horns  and  curves. 

Three  forms  of  upper  garment  may  be  differentiated, 
many  examples  illustrating  each.  We  have  the  long  gown 
which  in  one  form  or  another  goes  down  the  ages  and  survives 
to-day  in  the  gowns  of  aldermen  and  the  like.  This  gown  is 
for  the  most  part  cut  with  loose  sleeves  and  wide  wristbands, 
and  high  or  pleated  shoulders.  The  back  is  carefully  pleated, 
and  the  waist  has  a  narrow  girdle,  the  belt  having  ceased  to 
make  part  of  the  splendour  of  dress.  We  have  a  short  gown 
or  coat  to  the  knee  or  below.  This  garment  follows  the  lines 
of  the  longer  one,  but  it  is  worn  without  a  girdle.  The  short 
coat  to  the  fork  of  the  leg  is  girdled  like  the  gown  in  order  to 
persuade  the  shallow  skirt  to  stand  out  smartly  from  the  waist. 

The  sleeves  of  all  these  forms  often  end  below  the  shoulder, 
which  takes  a  puffed  shape,  with  fur  at  the  edge  of  the  dwarf 
sleeve  or  else  a  slittered  fringe.  In  these  cases  an  under  sleeve 
appears  from  below  and  continues  to  the  wrist,  and  a  false 
sleeve  sometimes  hangs  loose  from  below  the  [shoulder.  We 
have  an  example  of  a  great  dagged  sleeve  from  the  elbow 


113 


i  14  THE   ANCESTOR 

which  recalls  the  still  larger  sleeves  of  the  later  fourteenth 
century.  All  these  garments  are  shown  edged  at  collar,  wrist 
and  hem  with  ermine  and  sable  and  other  furs.  A  very  grace- 
ful riding-cloak  appears,  hanging  before  and  behind  and  open 
at  the  sides.  It  reaches  generally  to  the  knee,  but  an  example 
is  shown  where  the  same  type  of  cloak  hangs  to  the  ground. 
In  this  case  the  sides  are  fastened  together  at  the  waist.  The 
short  furred  cloak  is  emblazoned  with  arms  in  one  case,  but  all 
armorial  matters  must  be  carefully  considered  before  these 
pictures,  which  represent  them  so  ill,  be  taken  as  an  authority. 
The  King  of  France,  sitting  up  on  his  death-bed  in  a  linen 
shirt,  marks  perhaps  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  the  medieval 
habit  of  lying  naked  between  the  sheets. 

The  shapes  of  armour  are  yet  more  varied.  We  see  the 
full  suit  of  plate  taking  the  advanced  form  of  the  mid-fifteenth 
century  in  the  picture  of  the  death  of  the  lord  of  Lagurant, 
where  the  tonlets,  tuilles  and  mail  skirt  might  serve  for  a  knight 
of  the  first  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  other  examples 
with  tuilles  are  rare.  The  toes  are  pointed  in  armour  and  civil 
dress,  in  shoes  and  long  boots.  The  pauldrons  are  very  charac- 
teristic, following  in  many  cases  the  civil  dress,  and  appearing  as 
round  shell-like  whorls  with  strap  fringes  hanging  from  their 
edge  over  the  upper  arms.  Large  plate  pauldrons  of  the  Henry 
VII.  fashion  are  also  found.  The  knee-cops  and  elbow-cops  are 
much  articulated,  and  the  lesson  of  a  century  of  much  hard 
fighting  seems  to  show  itself  in  a  desire  to  move  the  body 
easily  and  limberly  in  action.  For  this  reason  the  brigandine 
jacket  is  much  affected  by  knights  as  by  archers.  Compara- 
tively few  figures  are  seen  in  steel  cap-a-pie,  the  defences  being 
hidden  by  velvet  and  coloured  cloths  with  gilt  studs  and 
rivets.  The  legs  are  often  unprotected  in  the  case  of  men 
otherwise  fully  armed. 

The  helms  and  headpieces  are  many.  A  few  knights  charge 
in  the  close  helm,  but  the  sallet  with  a  vizor,  and  with  or  with- 
out a  chin-piece,  is  the  horseman's  chief  wear.  The  kettle- 
hat  is  found,  and  the  archers  are  for  the  most  part  in  round 
skull  caps  with  large  roundels  over  the  ears.  These  roundels 
also  appear  at  the  cheeks  of  some  of  the  sallets.  With  this 
headgear  the  old  camail  or  the  mail  hood  is  generally  worn. 

The  rich  dress  and  handsome  equipment  of  the  archer  will 
be  remarked  as  a  commentary  upon  our  new  knowledge  that 
the  *  gentleman '  was  not  to  be  found  of  necessity  amongst 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  COSTUME     115 

the  fully  armed  men.  Besides  their  bows  the  archers  carry 
short  swords  or  broad  falchions. 

Men's  hair  is  worn  long,  and  when  the  beard  is  worn  the 
lips  are  shaven. 

Armorial  shields  are  carried  by  some  of  the  knights  in  the 
skirmish  outside  Chierebourg,  but  coats  of  arms  are  rare. 
The  Earl  of  Buckingham  wears  one,  and  one  of  the  princes  at 
Duguesclin's  death-bed  has  a  furred  mantle  with  the!  arms  of 
France.  The  helms  have  no  crests,  unless  some  little  feathers 
and  pennons  at  certain  helm-tops  may  be  taken  for  them. 

OSWALD  BARRON. 


I 

116  THE   ANCESTOR 


The  little  King  Richard  II.  is  here  found  seated  upon  a 
da'fs  under  a  canopy.  He  is  crowned,  but  wears  none  of  the 
robes  which  are  put  upon  a  king  at  his  crowning.  The  scene, 
too,  is  not  in  a  church,  but  in  a  hall.  The  king  is  clad  in  a 
blue  gown  furred  with  a  brown  fur.  The  great  lord  upon  his 
right  hand,  who  is  probably  one  of  his  uncles,  wears  the  ermine 
tippet  commonly  given  to  kings  and  princes  in  pictures  of  this 
period.  His  other  supporter,  who  holds  an  arrow  in  his  hand, 
wears  a  hat  of  estate  turned  up  with  ermine,  and  another 
ermine  tippet  is  seen  in  the  background.  The  long  gown 
with  loose  sleeves  is  well  seen  upon  the  lord  addressing  himself 
to  the  king,  a  figure  behind  him  showing  the  pleats  of  its  back. 
The  lord  immediately  behind  the  speaker  has  a  short  coat  of 
green,  red  hose  and  black  boots,  with  a  black  and  gold  hat 
turned  up  with  white.  Amongst  the  headgear  will  be  noted  the 
blue  hat  with  a  full  white  turban. 

Of  the  churchmen  we  may  signalize  the  deacon  in  a  blue 
tunicle,  holding  what  would  appear  to  be  a  reliquary.  His 
alb  is  plain  green,  sleeves  and  skirt.  It  may  be  that  no  colours 
are  trustworthy  in  these  brightly  painted  scenes,  but  it  is  to 
be'  pointed  out  that  albs  of  gre'en  and  other  colours  are  named 
in  inventories  of  Peterborough  and  Canterbury,  although 
these  colours  have  been  held  to  apply  to  the  apparels  only. 
The  priest  in  the  corner  is  gaily  dressed  in  a  blue  gown  with 
edges  of  white,  which  probably  stand jfor  white  fur.  The  long 
liripipe  about  his  neck  is  mauve-purple,  and  a  black  collar  of 
an  under  garment  with  a  white  one  below  it  give  a  curious 
suggestion  of  the  modern  clerical  collar.  At  his  girdle  hang 
a  purse,  a  penner  and  an  inkhorn. 


n8  THE   ANCESTOR 


II 

Messire  Guillame  des  Bordes  sets  out  from  Montbourc  to 
ride  towards  Chierebourg  with  men  at  arms,  archers,  arblasters 
and  footmen  to  fight  with  Sir  John  of  Harleston.  Sir  John 
and  his  men  having  set  out  on  the  like  errand,  they  meet  half 
way.  The  English  have  the  better  of  the  skirmish,  and 
Guillame  des  Bordes  is  taken  by  a  Hainault  squire  named 
Guillame  de  Beaulieu  *  appert  homme  darmes  q1  long  temps 
avoit  este  anglois.' 

Messire  Guillame,  whom  we  see  led  away  on  foot,  wears  a 
short-sleeved  tabard  of  mauve-purple  over  his  plates  and  a 
gilt  sallet  with  a  vizor.  A  coat  of  like  shape  is  worn  by  the 
knight  on  the  white  horse  towards  whom  he  is  led.  He  who 
has  des  Bordes  by  the  left  arm  is  in  gilded  armour.  The  other 
captor  has  a  brigandine  jacket  of  blue,  reinforced  with  plates, 
the  slittered  ends  of  the  blue  jacket  being  seen  below  the  ton- 
lets.  Of  the  mounted  knights  four  or  five  are  seen  in  the  great 
helm  of  the  period,  and  one  of  these  turning  towards  us  shows 
the  sights  defended  by  small  bars,  most  of  the  others  wearing 
sallets  with  vizors.  Shields  of  arms  are  carried,  a  knight  of  the 
Montbourc  party  bearing  three  hammers.  The  fully-armed 
man  in  the  front  rank  of  the  French  is  thrusting  with  a  short 
bill  which  has  below  the  blade  a  vamplate  or  burr  to  protect 
the  hands.  The  swordsman  striking  at  him  is  armed  to  the 
thigh,  below  which  we  see  his  red  hosen. 

The  tall  English  archer  gives  us  a  fine  figure  of  a  bowman. 
He  wears  no  visible  armour,  though  a  brigandine  is  probably 
concealed.  His  blue  sleeveless  coat  has  a  narrow  girdle  which 
carries  his  arrows,  and  a  knotted  scarf  upon  the  hips.  He  has 
brown  hose  with  red  shoes,  and  the  sleeves  of  his  under  gar- 
ment are  purple.  He  wears  a  vizored  sallet,  whilst  all  the 
French  archers  have  iron  skull  caps  with  roundels  over  the 
ears. 


120  THE    ANCESTOR 

• 


III 

r$|  This  picture  is  of  the  siege  of  the  castle  of  Mortaigne  in 
Poitou,  which  Yvain  of  Wales,  a  great  enemy  of  the  English, 
made  by  order  of  the  Duke  of  Anjou.  The  castle,  which  was 
held  by  Messire  le  Soudic  de  Lestrade,  was  not  to  be  taken  by 
assault,  so  the  attackers  have  '  built  their  siege  '  against  it,  with 
bulwarks  of  wood,  battled  and  pierced  for  cannon. 

On  the  right  we  have  the  death  of  Yvain  of  Wales  by 
treachery.  A  squire  who  was  hardly  a  gentleman,  for  a 
gentleman,  says  the  chronicler,  would  not  have  done  such  a 
deed,  came  to  him  from  the  marches  of  Wales  and  gave  him 
news  in  his  own  Welsh  tongue.  Now  Yvain  was  wont  to  go 
out  from  the  camp  and  sit  upon  the  ground  in  a  certain  place 
to  comb  and  braid  his  hair,  and  thus  one  morning  he  bade  the 
Welsh  squire  Jacques  Laube  to  bring  him  his  comb.  Seeing 
that  Yvain  was  alone  and  unarmed,  this  evil  squire  went 
quickly  and  for  a  comb  brought  '  a  little  short  Spanish  dart,' 
with  which  he  struck  Yvain  through  the  body,  afterwards 
escaping  to  the  castle.  That  he  came  safely  away  is  shown 
by  the  English  record  of  a  payment  made  to  him  for  his 
treachery. 

On  the  left  the  siegers  are  firing  upon  the  castle  with  cross- 
bows and  long-bows  and  hand-guns  of  the  simplest  form.  In 
the  foreground  the  longbowman  is  seen  with  his  shafts  stuck 
in  the  ground  by  his  knee,  by  means  of  which  he  could  shoot 
one  after  another  in  great  haste.  Beside  him  the  crossbow- 
man  is  winding  up  his  arblast. 


122  THE   ANCESTOR 


IV 

We  have  here  the  King  of  Navarre  as  he  came  to  Bordeaux. 
He  wears  a  small  crown  in  his  hat  and  an  ermine  tippet,  with 
an  engrailed  edge  over  his  short  and  tabard-shaped  riding 
cloak,  which  is  bordered  with  ermine.  The  loose  sleeves  of 
his  under  garment  are  also  edged  with  ermine.  His  black 
boots  are  long  and  of  soft  leather,  the  heels  having  very  long 
spurs  with  rowels.  On  one  of  those  receiving  him  we  see  a 
good  example  of  the  turban  hat  thrown  over  the  shoulder  at 
the  end  of  its  liripipe.  The  gentleman  behind  the  king  must 
be  his  Serjeant,  although  he  carries  a  short  sceptre-like  rod  in 
place  of  a  mace.  The  siege  gives  us  two  remarkable  pictures 
of  cannon  or  bombards,  the  one  upon  a  fixed  stand,  the  other 
upon  a  carriage. 


124  THE   ANCESTOR 


V 

This  knightly  adventure  under  the  walls  of  a  town  shows 
the  manner  of  the  death  of  the  lord  of  Lagurant. 

Lagurant  had  ridden  out  to  Cavillac,  which  had  an  English 
garrison,  leaving  horsemen  in  an  ambush  whilst  he  challenged 
Bernard  Courant,  the  captain,  to  a  course  with  lances.  The 
horse  of  Lagurant  fell,  and  Bernard,  who  was  a  good  and  strong 
squire,  took  his  basinet  with  both  hands,  so  that  he  drew  it  off 
his  head.  Then  Bernard  drew  his  dagger,  saying,  '  Render 
yourself  my  prisoner,  rescue  or  no  rescue,  or  you  are  dead.' 
Lagurant  heard  his  men  ride  out  and  said  no  word,  therefore 
Bernard  struck  him  with  his  dagger  in  the  head  and  rode  off 
to  the  gates,  leaving  Lagurant  wounded  to  death. 

The  horse  of  Bernard  has  full  trappers  of  a  steel  colour 
flowered  with  gold.  Both  horses  have  crinets  of  articulated 
steel,  whilst  that  of  Bernard  has  the  chanfrein  as  well.  The 
saddle  out  of  which  Lagurant  has  been  drawn  shows  how  the 
knight  charged  locked  in  his  seat.  The  armour  is  all  of  plain 
steel.  Lagurant's  mail  skirt  with  tonlets  and  *  tuilles  '  is  of 
the  fashion  which  continued  into  the  sixteenth  century.  The 
pauldrons  wrought  into  a  whirled  pattern  with  a  square  edged 
fringe  covering  their  juncture  with  the  upper  plates  of  the 
arms  are  very  characteristic  of  the  period. 


126  THE   ANCESTOR 


VI 

This  wedding  is  that  of  the  young  count  Walleran  de  Saint 
Pol  with  the  fairest  lady  in  England,  the  lady  Maude  of  Hol- 
land, daughter  of  the  king's  mother. 

The  count's  wedding  gown  is  blue,  edged  with  fur,  the 
liripipe  over  his  shoulder  being  black.  His  bride's  tall  hat  is 
turned  up  with  fur.  Her  gown,  slit  at  the  sides  from  foot  to 
mid  thigh,  has  a  long  train  and  sleeves  falling  from  below  the 
shoulder.  One  of  her  ladies  wears  a  good  example  of  the 
steeple  head-dress.  The  men's  gowns  are  clearly  shown, 
gathered  in  small  pleats  down  the  back,  the  sleeves  very  full  and 
high  at  the  shoulder,  where  they  are  slightly  pleated. 


128  THE   ANCESTOR 


VII 

Here  Messire  Bertran  de  daiquiri  [du  Guesclin]  sets  siege 
to  Neufchastel  de  Randon,  and  here  he  dies,  which  was  a  great 
advantage  to  his  enemies  and  a  great  ill  to  the  kingdom  of 
France. 

In  the  foreground  we  have  a  great  siege  cannon  upon  a 
wheeled  carriage,  a  carriage  which  exactly  resembles  the 
Flemish  wheelbarrow  of  our  own  time.  It  is  guarded  by  two 
billmen  carrying  pavesses. 

Messire  Bertran  lies  dying  stark  naked  after  the  bed  fashion 
of  his  day,  but  wearing  a  white  night-cap.  One  of  the  princes 
near  him  wears  the  tabard-like  horseman's  cloak  with  an  ermine 
tippet.  Here  the  cloak  is  of  blue  with  the  arms  of  France. 
A  longer  form  of  this  graceful  cloak  is  worn  by  the  mounted 
knight. 


1 30  THE   ANCESTOR 


VIII 

Here  the  Earl  of  Bouquinghem  [Buckingham],  the  king's 
uncle,  goes  to  sea  to  bring  help  to  the  Duke  of  Bretaigne. 

In  the  chamber  scene  we  have  most  interesting  examples 
of  civil  dress.  The  variety  of  headgear  at  this  time  is  shown 
by  the  fact  that  each  of  the  five  hats  differs  from  the  others. 
The  gown  and  coat  are  of  three  lengths.  The  long  gown  has 
been  illustrated  by  the  earlier  pictures,  and  it  is  enough  to 
call  attention  to  the  sleeves  of  it,  which  in  one  case  resemble 
the  falling  sleeves  of  the  bride  (in  No.  VI.).  The  coat  to  the 
knee  or  below  it  has  plain  sleeves,  loose  at  the  wrist  in  one 
instance  and  gathered  tight  in  the  other.  The  bearded  gallant 
in  the  foreground  has  a  coat  to  the  fork  of  the  leg,  gathered  at 
the  back  after  the  fashion  of  the  long  gown.  His  coat  is  blue 
with  a  dagged  red  border  below  the  shoulder,  from  which  hang 
long  sleeves,  sweeping  from  the  elbow  to  a  foot  of  the  ground, 
of  green  stuff  with  elaborate  daggings  which  recall  the  long 
sleeves  actually  worn  in  that  reign  of  Richard  II.  which  these 
pictures  illustrate  with  the  costumes  and  arms  of  the  reign 
of  Edward  IV. 

In  the  second  division  the  earl  strides  up  the  gangway- 
plank  in  his  fore  and  aft  riding  cloak  of  blue  and  ermine,  with  a 
hat  of  the  same.  The  ship  captain  receiving  him  is  clad  in  a 
grey  hooded  coat  with  a  skirt  of  the  same,  of  a  texture  which 
suggests  the  skipper's  oilskins. 


1 32  THE   ANCESTOR 


IX 

Here  the  Earl  of  Buckingham  has  come  before  the  town  of 
Troies  in  Champaigne,  where  are  the  Dukes  of  Burgundy, 
Bourbon  and  Bar,  the  Count  of  Eu,  the  lord  of  Couci,  and 
many  other  great  folk.  He  sends  forward  to  the  barrier  his 
two  kings  of  arms,  Chandos  and  Acquitaine,  to  parley  with  the 
garrison. 

The  form  of  the  tabards  of  the  officers  of  arms  is  of  great 
interest.  They  bear  the  arms  of  England  only  where  they 
should  bear  France  and  England  quartered,  but  the  arms  are 
coarsely  indicated,  and  it  is  unfortunate  that  few  of  the 
illuminators  of  pictures  we're  experts  in  armorial  devices, 
having  no  knowledge  of  the  mystery  of  the  shield  painters. 
The  Earl  of  Buckingham  on  horseback  at  the  right  bears  the 
plain  arms  of  England  on  his  coat,  without  his  border  for 
difference. 


J34  THE   ANCESTOR 


X 

Here  the  English  come  to  skirmish  at  the  bulwark  before 
Troies,  and  gain  it  by  force  of  arms. 

The  defenders  of  Troies  have  built  without  the  gates  a 
*  bollewercq  '  and  a  l  bastille  '  made  of  doors  and  shutters  and 
tables.  An  English  knight  leaps  this  with  his  horse  and  lays 
about  him  till  horse  and  man  are  killed.  From  the  gate  tower 
the  great  lords  look  on  at  their  ease.  Under  cover  of  archery 
the  attackers,  sword  in  hand,  assault  the  bulwark  with  ladders. 
On  the  right  a  mild-faced  cannonier  is  about  to  touch  off  a 
huge  cannon  whose  direction  seems  to  threaten  attack,  de- 
fence, bulwark  and  towers. 

The  turbaned  French  archer  in  the  foreground  wears  over 
a  mail  frock  a  brigandine  covered  with  red  with  gold  points. 
The  swordsman  on  the  ladder  may  be  remarked  for  his  short 
skirt  of  scalework  and  for  the  armour  of  his  legs.  His  greaves 
cover  his  legs  to  the  knees,  which  are  left  unprotected.  The 
straps  which  fasten  the  cuisses  are  also  shown. 


136  THE   ANCESTOR 


XI 

Whilst  the  English  were  riding  through  the  realm  of 
France,  King  Charles  of  France  lay  dying.  We  see  him 
propped  up  in  a  high  bed  with  a  red  coverlet  and  curtains 
wrought  with  golden  fleurs  de  lys.  He  wears  a  turban-shaped 
cap,  and  to  our  surprise  we  find  him  clad  in  a  white  shirt, 
although  the  custom  was  still  to  lie  in  bed  naked.  About  his 
bed  are  his  brothers  and  councillors.  The  sleeve  of  the  gen- 
tleman with  his  back  to  us  shows  that  the  fringed  pauldron 
of  the  armour  followed,  as  is  usual,  a  fashion  in  civil  dress. 


THE  ATTWOODS  AND  THEIR  BARD1 

THE  family  of  Attwood,  famous  in  the  glass  and  iron 
trades  on  Tyne  and  Wear,  has  produced  many  respect- 
able citizens  and  one  notable  man.  Thomas  Attwood  (1783- 
1856),  Cobbett's  '  King  Tom,'  was  a  leader  of  Birmingham 
reformers  in  the  '  thirties '  and  founder  of  the  once  famous 
*  Birmingham  Political  Union  for  the  Protection  of  Public 
Rights.'  At  the  height  of  his  day  he  was  the  hero  of  the  mid- 
lands. His  portraits,  plain  and  coloured,  were  hawked  in  the 
streets  and  the  ballad  singers  sang  of  him.  He  was  a  noisy 
and  violent  M.P.,  although  as  an  agitator  he  kept  within 
bounds  and  may  be  remembered  to-day  because  he  nipped  in 
its  beginning  a  movement  of  Passive  Resisters  who  were 
organizing  a  refusal  to  pay  taxes.  His  pet  theory  of  the 
currency — that  the  issue  of  money  creates  markets — he  urged 
in  and  out  of  season  to  the  emptying  of  the  parliament 
benches.  He  died  leaving  the  memory  of  an  honest  and 
strenuous  man  and  of  an  untiring  bore,  therefore  Birmingham 
has  honoured  him  with  one  of  those  grimy  statues  in  frock 
coat  and  trousers  which  stand  at  the  street  corner  to  warn  us 
that  the  private  life  is  best. 

Such  a  typical  family  of  manufacturers  and  politicians 
deserve  a  little  book  as  their  memorial,  a  book  of  which  a  few 
copies  might  sleep  honourably  in  the  top  shelves  of  public 
libraries,  whilst  others  become  parlour  heirlooms  amongst 
the  Attwoods  and  their  kin.  But  the  needful  book  is  not 
this  of  Mr.  John  Robinson's. 

We  begin  a  book  without  arrangement  or  system  at  an 
account  and  an  illustration  of  a  memorial  brass  set  up  in  a 
Sunderland  church  to  one  of  the  Attwoods.  As  the  Edward 
Attwood  commemorated  seems  to  have  been  an  undistinguished 
member  of  his  family,  and  as  the  brass  itself,  although  to  the 
pen  dipped  in  journalese  *  a  beautiful  example  of  the  en- 
graver's art,'  is  the  commonplace  production  familiar  to  us 

1  THE  ATTWOOD  FAMILY,  with  historic  notes  and  -pedigrees,  by  JOHN  ROBIN- 
SON.   Printed  for  private  circulation  by  Hills  &  Company,  Sunderland,  1903. 

137 


138  THE   ANCESTOR 

in  the  windows  of  Covent  Garden  '  ecclesiastical  art  ware- 
houses,' we  may  soon  discover  that  the  arrangement  of  para- 
graphs and  pages  is  independent  of  any  connected  narrative. 
We  have  anecdotes  of  the  Mr.  Attwood  with  a  kindly  fancy  for 
giving  anonymous  thousand-pound  notes  to  hospitals  and 
charities,  and  stories  of  the  parliamentary  days  of  the  Attwoods, 
mingled  with  cuttings  from  local  newspapers  announcing 
Attwood  marriages,  deaths  and  burials,  cuttings  which  are 
remorselessly  reprinted  at  length.  The  mourners  in  each 
mourning  coach  are  counted  for  us  by  name,  '  the  patent 
metallic  coffin  supplied  by  Mr.  James  Bunch,  builder  and 
undertaker  of  Cheshunt '  is  uncovered  for  us. 

In  and  out  of  these  chronicles  of  the  grave — and  of  the 
grave's  tasteful  monument  in  red  granite — we  have  a  long 
tale  of  the  great  ancestry  of  the  family.  Now  the  family 
pedigree  of  these  Attwoods  is  one  upon  which  no  doubt  can 
be  thrown.  An  appendix  displays  it  in  full,  as  it  was'  compiled 
in  1888  and  registered  at  the  College  of  Arms.  It  was  based 
upon  sound  research  made  by  Mr.  Thomas  A.  C.  Attwood, 
a  member  of  the  family  and  a  genealogist  of  the  modern 
school.  No  genealogical  difficulty  is  suggested  by  it,  and 
the  certificate  of  the  officers  of  arms  is  a  guarantee  that  the 
evidences  for  it  have  been  carefully  examined. 

The  first  ancestor  of  the  family  is  one  George  Attwood  of 
Halesowen  in  Worcestershire,  who  married  Mary  Foley  of 
the  same  place  and  died  in  1721,  having  removed  to  Rowley 
Regis  in  Staffordshire.  His  son,  another  George,  married 
Sarah  Bowater  and  died  in  1767.  A  third  George  bought 
Hawne  House  near  Halesowen,  and  with  him  we  see  the 
rise  of  the  family  fortunes,  the  next  generation  giving  us  the 
first  J.P.  and  D.L.  At  the  time  of  the  registering  of  this 
pedigree  a  grant  of  arms  would  seem  to  have  been  obtained. 
Here  we  have  the  simple  and  uncontestable  facts  of  the 
Attwood  family  history,  concerning  which  Mr.  Robinson 
allows  himself  many  pages  of  braggart  assertion.  The  ar- 
rangement of  the  book  gives  us  no  aid  in  sorting  out  and 
piecing  together  the  fragments  of  the  preposterous  family 
legend  which  weighs  upon  the  Attwoods  and  their  editor.  A 
poet  has  spoken  of  the  violet  of  a  legend.  In  the  story  of 
the  Attwoods  and  their  kinsfolk  legend  gives  us  its  trumpet- 
orchids. 

With  the  first  prosperous  Attwood  appeared  the  tale  that 


THE  ATTWOODS  AND  THEIR  BARD  139 

the  family  was  a  branch  of  the  most  distinguished  family  of 
the  name  to  be  found  in  the  heraldry  books,  the  Attwoods 
of  Wolverley,  concerning  whom  Nash  is  quoted  as  saying  that 
they  were  *  the  most  ancient  family  in  the  county.'  A 
reference  to  Nash  saves  his  reputation,  his  phrase  being  '  the 
most  ancient  family  in  the  parish.5  The  Attwoods  of  Wolver- 
ley having  found  knights  of  the  shire  in  the  fourteenth  century r 
Mr.  Robinson  feels  himself  warranted  in  describing  the  Att- 
woods of  Hawne  House,  whose  first  M.P.  occurs  in  1832,  as 
having  been  '  associated  with  the  representation  of  the  people 
from  the  first  of  our  parliamentary  history  down  to  the  reign 
of  Queen  Victoria.'  *  For  upwards  of  550  years  they  were 
active  members  in  the  council  chambers  of  the  nation.'  From 
this  beginning  the  editor  finds  ancestors  for  his  Attwoods  in 
tangled  plenty. 

So  voluminous  were  the  documents  placed  at  my  disposal,  that  the  difficulty 
was  what  to  leave  out  rather  than  what  to  embody  in  the  appendix.  .  .  . 

But  I  make  no  apologies  for  bringing  before  the  reader  the  records  of  so 
remarkable  a  family.  From  the  far-off  days  of  our  pre-Norman  history  down 
to  the  great  Victorian  era,  the  family  have  ever  been  conspicuous  for  their 
patriotism  and  ceaseless  industry.  .  .  .  The  family  for  upwards  of  a  thousand 
years  have  been  foremost  citizens  in  our  national  life  and  history. 

This  being  the  year  of  grace  1904,  we  may  take  it  then, 
that  the  Attwoods  of  Hawne  can  be  traced  beyond  the  year 
904,  but  Mr.  Robinson  gives  us  but  tantalizing  scraps  from 
their  genealogy.  They  have  the  rare  distinction  of  possessing 
more  than  one  pedigree  and  all  equally  authentic.  We  have 
already  Mr.  Robinson's  declaration  that  they  were  foremost 
citizens  in  England  of  A.D.  904,  but  to  our  surprise  Brittany 
claims  them  as  well.  Homer's  birthplace  was  found  in  more 
than  one  city  and  country,  and  the  *  De  Bois  afterwards  Angli- 
cized into  Attwood,  were  knights  of  Brittany  before  the 
Conquest.  When  they  came  over  with  William  I.  they  settled 
in  Worcester.' 

Their  third  origin  was  royal  and  French.  *  The  Attwoods, 
with  the  exception  of  two  other  families,  had  after  the  Con- 
quest more  land  than  any  other  family  in  England.  They 
descended  from  the  Capets,  Kings  of  France  !  "  In  Wolverley 
church  was  once  the  effigy  of  a  knight.  As  Attwoods  were 
found  at  Wolverley  the  knight  was  to  Mr.  Robinson's  mind 
so  undeniably  an  Attwood  ancestor  that  discussion  of  the 
point  is  needless.  His  legs  were  crossed,  therefore  all  church- 


140  THE    ANCESTOR 

yard  legends  witness  that  he  must  have  been  a  crusader.  '  On 
the  coat  of  arms  of  this  Crusader  is  the  Fleur  de  Lys,  a  proof 
of  his  descent  from  the  Capets,  Kings  of  France.'  The 
unimaginative  antiquary,  noting  that  the  fleur  de  lys  is  not 
part  of  the  arms  of  Attwood  of  Wolverley  would  but  conclude 
that  the  crusader  was  not  an  Attwood,  but  we  are  in  Mr. 
Robinson's  hands. 

Attwood  being  confessedly  the  name  of  one  living  at  a 
wood,  Mr.  Robinson  amplifies  the  family  pedigree  by  admitting 
•every  one  who  at  any  time  or  in  any  country  has  lived  at  or  in 
any  wood  whatever  to  the  privileges  of  kinship.  If  you  are 
from  a  French  wood  your  name  may  be  written  Dubois  or 
de  Bois,  but  you  are  none  the  less  an  Attwood.  Community 
•of  surname  proves  community  of  blood.  Mr.  Robinson's  own 
name  offers  great  possibilities  which  he  cannot  afford  to 
neglect.  Robinson  is  the  son  of  Robin  or  Robert.  Robert 
the  Devil  will  make  a  fine  figure  in  the  Robinson  pedigree 
volume,  and  the  late  Commander-in-Chief  and  the  professional 
billiard  champion  cousins  of  whom  one  may  be  proud.  And 
bold  Robin  Hood,  clearly  an  ancestor  of  Mr.  John  Robinson, 
brings  the  Robinson  pedigree  to  a  most  interesting  point.  For 
Robin  was  at  or  of  a  wood  if  ever  any  one  was,  and  therefore 
an  Attwood  in  grain.  We  begin  to  see  that  Mr.  Robinson 
has  his  good  reasons  for  his  high  opinion  of  the  Attwoods. 

It  must  not  be  imagined  that  this  bold  theory  of  the  sur- 
name is  used  timidly  by  Mr.  Robinson,  for  the  famous  line  of 
Bois  of  Leicestershire  has  its  own  place  in  the  Attwood  history, 
just  as  Simon  de  Montfort,  Earl  of  Leicester,  is  here  by  reason 
of  a  similarity  of  arms.  But  it  will  hardly  be  believed,  even 
by  those  whose  appetite  for  marvels  has  been  blunted  by 
much  reading  of  family  history,  that  the  famous  Breton  story 
of  the  Combat  of  the  Thirty  by  the  oak  of  Ploermel  is  here 
presented  to  us  as  handed  down  by  a  tradition  of  the  Attwoods 
of  Hawne  !  It  is  evert  so,  and  when  Beaumanoir  thirsts  for 
water  in  the  fight  it  is  '  Geoffrey  de  Bois  (Attwood)  '  who  bids 
him  '  bois  ton  sang.' 

A  like  exercise  of  what  may  be  termed  genealogy  by 
instinct  gilds  the  alliances  of  the  Attwoods.  The  heralds' 
college  pedigree,  which  by  this  time  we  are  ready  to  denounce 
as  grovelling  and  unimaginative,  recognizes  the  marriage  of 
the  third  George  Attwood  in  1742  with  Rachel  Maria  Gaunt, 
daughter  of  Samuel  Gaunt,  grandson  of  Roger  Gaunt  of 


THE  ATTWOODS  AND  THEIR  BARD    141 

Rowley  Regis,  beyond  whom  the  official  genealogist,  hampered 
by  his  demands  for  parish  register  entries,  wills  and  the  like, 
will  not  Suffer  himself  to  be  led. 

The  match  with  Gaunt  gives  Mr.  Robinson  and  his 
method  their  best  occasion. 

The  alliances  of  the  Attwoods  with  the  great  families  of  the  kingdom  did 
not  cease  in  the  days  of  the  Plantagenets,  the  Capets  of  France,  or  the  houses 
of  Beauchamp  and  Dudley.  The  grandfather  of  Mr.  Edward  Attwood  of 
Southwick  married,  in  1716,  Rachel  Maria  Gaunt,  who  was  a  descendant  of 
Ralph  Gaunt,  Lord  of  Alost,  Flanders,  and  a  descendant  of  the  family  of 
"Old  John  of  Gaunt,  time-honoured  Lancaster.' 

The  relationship  with  John  of  Gaunt  is  stated  for  us  on 
another  page  as  a  direct  descent  from  his  third  son.  That 
third  son  was,  as  Mr.  Robinson  is  doubtless  aware,  the  famous 
Cardinal  Beaufort,  Bishop  of  Winchester.  The  domestic  life 
of  churchmen  in  the  middle  ages  was  necessarily  a  private 
one,  by  reason  of  certain  prejudices  against  the  marriage  of 
the  clergy,  and  thus  we  may  readily  account  for  the  small 
figure  in  history  made  by  the  cardinal's  wife  and  offspring. 

Further  examination  of  our  authority  shows  us  that  the 
Gaunts  shared  with  the  Attwoods  their  puzzling  distinction 
of  two  or  more  differing  lines  of  male  ancestry.  A  pedigree 
in  the  appendix  makes  this  clear,  so  innocent  a  pedigree  in 
form  and  matter  that  we  must  ask  our  printer  to  render  it 
at  length. 


142  THE   ANCESTOR 

Baldwin  de  Isle=Alice,  dau.  of  Robert,  King  of  France, 
"  son  of  Hugh  Capet 


Gisler= Ralph  Gaunt,  Lord  of  Alost,  Flanders 


j.  Gilbert=Alic 


i.  Baldwin  came  over  with  William  z.  Gilbert=Alice 

the  Conqueror 


Walter=Maud,  dau.  of  Stephen 
I  of  Brittany 

Robert 
Stephen 

Gilbert 

[A  portion  of  the  MS.  representing  six  generations  lost 
or  mislaid  on  the  death  of  Benjamin  Attwood] 


i.  Robert  de 


Gaunt       2.  Gilbert        3.  Margaret=William  de        4.  Nicholas        5.  Juliane 

"  Kidister 


Rodger  William  Gaunt= 

I 


John= 
John= 


Rachel   Maria  Gaunt=  George  Attwood  of  Hawn  House 
[born  I7i6,died  1798]     and  the  Leasowes 

Unless  the  six  missing  generations  include  John  of  Gaunt 
we  have  here  a  second  version  of  the  pedigree  of  Rachel 
Maria.  We  may  contrast  with  it  the  common  and  doubtless 
incorrect  account  of  the  family  of  Gaunt  of  Folkingham  in 


THE  ATTWOODS  AND  THEIR  BARD     143 

Lincolnshire,  which  would  seem  to  be  the  family  of  Rachel 
Maria's  Gilberts  and  Roberts. 


Gilbert  de  Gand,  a 
Domesday  tenant 


Walter  de  Gand  of  =  Maude,  dau.  of  Stephen 
Folkingham  I  of  Brittany 


Robert  de  Gand, 
second  son= 


Gilbert  of  Gand  called  Earl  Stephen  de 

of  Lincoln  in  1216=  Gand 


Robert  de  Gand,  Gilbert  de  Gand  Juliane 

died  s.p.  of  Folkingham = 


Iichole=] 


Gilbert  de  Margaret= William  de  Nichole= Peter  de          Juliane,  aged  40  and  un- 

Gand,  died  I  Kerdeston  I  Mauley  married  in    1298,  coheir 

s.p.  1298  of  her  brother 


Roger  de  Kerdeston,  Peter  de  Mauley, 

coheir  of  Gilbert  coheir  of  Gilbert 

his  uncle  in  1298  his  uncle 

This  pedigree  and  the  pedigree  registered  at  the  College 
of  Arms  are  both  set  right  in  important  particulars  by  Mr. 
Robinson's  chart  pedigree,  which  was,  we  understand,  found 
amongst  the  papers  of  the  late  Benjamin  Attwood.  Mr. 
Attwood's  discovery  that  Roger  de  Kerdeston  should  be  more 
accurately  described  as  *  Rodger  William  Gaunt '  saves  us  from 
the  commonly  received  opinion  that  this  line  of  Gaunt  or 
Gand  was  extinct  in  name.  Rodger  William  de  Kerdeston  de 
Kidister  Gaunt,  as  we  may  be  allowed  to  describe  him,  was 
born  about  1278.  As  great-grandfather  of  Rachel  Maria 
we  have  his  marriage  in  1640,  which  throws  into  shade  the 
late  achievement  of  Lord  Donegall. 

The  reader  must  not  imagine  that  this  lofty  monument 
to  the  Attwoods  has  not  its  base  in  chronicles  and  records, 


i44  THE   ANCESTOR 

for  many  are  quoted.  But  the  following  sample  will  show 
that  however  intelligible  to  their  collector  they  offer  diffi- 
culties to  the  understanding  of  less  instructed  antiquaries. 

Jon  Boys  (Bois)  Attwood,  habet  licentium  Celebraidi  divine  in  oratorir  sus 
de  Wade  achu  Wolvordle  et  Trympelye  per  anno  19  Jan.  1357. 

It  were  certainly  better  to  take  the  Attwoods  and  the 
Gaunts  upon  the  safer  basis  of  their  family  traditions.  The 
fragrance  of  these  follows  us  to  the  book  end.  The  last 
chapter  is  to  tell  us  that  Mr.  B.  St.  John  Attwood-Mathews 
is  now  living  at  Llanvihangel  Court  in  Monmouthshire.  It 
is  very  reasonably  headed  '  The  Attwoods  in  History,'  and 
the  discovery  that  King  Charles  I.  slept  in  a  bedroom  at 
Llanvihangel  draws  from  Mr.  Robinson  as  a  necessary  com- 
ment : — 

It  is  interesting  to  find  how  interwoven  with  the  great  historic  events  of 
our  national  life  has  been  the  patriotism  of  the  Attwood  family.  From  century 
to  century  a  De  Bois  or  an  Attwood  has  ever  been  foremost  in  the  battles,  the 
councils,  and  in  the  no  less  glorious  peaceful  development  of  the  country. 

We  do  not  wonder  at  Mr.  Robinson's  enthusiasm  for  the 
patriotism  of  the  Attwoods  if  we  have  quoted  him  fairly. 
As  we  understand  him,  a  gentleman  whose  mother  was  of  this 
godlike  race  has  bought  or  rented  an  historic  house  ;  and  by 
reason  of  this  the  patriotism  of  his  mother's  relations  is  inter- 
woven with  the  great  historic  events  of  our  national  life. 
King  Charles  is  said  to  have  directed  a  campaigri*from  Llanvi- 
hangel, and  the  Attwoods  are  thereby  '  foremost  in  their 
country's  battles  ! '  Tartarin  of  Tarascon,  who  had  in  youth 
refused  a  clerkship  in  a  Singapore  house,  and  reckoned  himself 
therefor  a  seasoned  authority  on  Mongolian  warfare,  that 
Tartarin  would  have  understood  and  envied  Mr.  Robinson. 

This  then  is  one  more  of  that  tale  of  well  bound,  well 
printed  works  on  genealogy  which,  nourished  in  imagination 
and  untrammeled  by  study  or  discrimination,  come  in  steady 
progress  from  the  press.  We  congratulate  Mr.  Robinson, 
whom  his  title  page  shows  to  be  a  writer  of  some  experience, 
on  his  production  of  a  notable  example.  But  his  book  may 
fall  into  the  hands  of  a  critic  who  should  demand  in  a  compiler 
of  medieval  genealogy  an  acquaintance  with  at  least  such 
outlines  of  English  history  as  are  taught  in  our  nurseries,  with 
the  Latin  of  the  dame's  school,  or  with  the  critical  faculty 


THE   ATTWOODS    AND   THEIR    BARD  145 

which  should  enable  the  compiler  to  suspect  a  discrepancy  of 
facts  when  more  than  one  father  is  assigned  to  a  single  indivi- 
dual. Should  such  ill-fortune  come  to  this  book  Mr.  Robin- 
son will  have  our  sympathy,  which  must  for  the  present  be 
given  to  Mr.  Thomas  A.  C.  Attwood,  who  sees  his  honestly 
constructed  pedigree  of  his  family  brought  to  scorn  by  Mr. 
Robinson's  morris  dance  amongst  '  de  Boscos,'  Capets,  de 
Bois,  and  Gaunts.  That  a  stranger  should  hang  paper 
lanterns  to  the  boughs  of  one's  family  tree  is  a  trespass  not  to 
be  forgiven. 

O.  B. 


146  THE   ANCESTOR 


TWO  suits  of  which  the  record  is  preserved  in  Bracton's 
Note   Book  enable    me    to    supplement    my  paper  on 
'  Giffard  of  Fonthill  Giffard.' x     I  there  showed  that  one  of 
the  coheirs  of  the  Fonthill  Giffards  in  the  reign  of  John  was 
•  William  Cumin.      Who  he  was  and  whence  he  came  are 
points  that  seem  to  have  remained  hitherto  undetermined ; 
but  his  connection  with  Warwickshire  and  with  Scotland  can 
now  be  established. 

In  1224  John  de  Mar(a) 2  and  Eva  his  wife  brought  a  suit 
by  their  attorney  against  Robert  de  Mandeville  (eldest  coheir 
of  the  Giffards)  for  Eva's  third  part  (i.e.  dower)  of  the  fourth 
part  of  Sutton  (Mandeville)  and  the  third  part  of  the  third 
part  of  Fonthill  (Giffard),  Wilts,  and  the  third  part  of  the 
fourth  part  of  (Avon)  Dasset  and  Halford,  Warwickshire,3 
these  fractions  being  accounted  for  by  the  division  of  the 
Fonthill  barony.  They  claimed  this  dower  as  that  with 
which  William  Cumin,  her  former  husband,  had  endowed 
her,  her  attorney,  James  '  Scot,'  being  witness  thereto.* 
Robert's  plea  was  that  her  husband  had  only  endowed 
her  with  the  third  of  the  estates  he  held  at  the  time  of 
her  espousals,5  and  Eva  stated  that  she  had  been  espoused 
in  Scotland.  Eva's  connection  with  Scotland  is  further  proved 
by  the  fact  that  earlier  in  the  year  (14  February)  '  Eva  que 
fuit  uxor  Willelmi  Cumin '  had  received  letters  of  safe- 
conduct  *  in  eundo  per  terram  Anglic  versus  partes  Scottie  et 
inde  redeundo.' fl 

In  another  suit  of  the  same  date  (Mich.  1224)  John  and 

1  Ancestor,  vi.  137-47. 

3  The  name  is '  Mar '  in  Bracton's  Note  Book,  but  an  entry  on  the  Close  Rolls 
below  seems  decisive  in  favour  of  '  Mara.' 

s  Bracton's  Note  Book  (ed.  Maitland),  ii.  718.  The  Warwickshire  names, 
*  Dorcet '  and  *  Alesfordia,'  have  baffled  the  indexer. 

*  William  Cumin,  therefore,  was  dead  before  this  date. 

B  Which  evidently  implies  that  her  husband,  at  that  time,  had  not  become 
a  coheir  of  the  Giffard  fief. 

6  Calendar  of  Patent  Rolls  (1216-25),  i.  427. 


THE    CUMINS    OF   SNITTERFIELD      147 

Eva  claimed  a  third  part  of  two- thirds  of  Snitterfield,Warwick- 
shire,  as  dower  with  which  her  husband  William  Cumin  had 
endowed  her.1  Their  opponent,  William  de  Canteloup,  called 
for  Eva's  warranty,  and  John  and  Eva  replied  that  it  was  in 
the  keeping  of  King  of  Scotland,  *  de  quo  tenet,'  and  that 
William  only  had  possession  of  the  land  as  custos  during  the 
minority  of  the  heir.  William  admitted  this  and  vouched 
to  warranty  John  de  Abetot,  the  lord. 

Accordingly,  in  Trinity  term  following  (i225),2  John  and 
Eva  brought  their  suit  against  John  de  Abetot.  John  ad- 
mitted her  right  to  the  dower  if  she  would  give  him  possession 
of  the  heir,  but  she  and  her  husband  replied  that  the  heir 
was  in  Scotland  and  out  of  their  control.  John  therefore  lost 
his  case. 

An  entry  on  the  Close  Rolls  two  years  later  (1227)  gives 
the  name  of  the  heir — 

John  de  Mara  attornavit  Jacobum  de  Lascel'  et  Warinum  de  Jernem  '  contra 
Johannem  de  Abbetot  de  Margaria  filia  et  herede  Willelmi  Cumyn  quam  idem 
Johannes  de  Abbetot  exigit  a  predicto  Johanne  et  Eva  uxore  ejus. 

So  far  all  seems  plain  enough ;  but  when  we  turn  to 
Dugdale's  Warwickshire 3  we  find  a  very  different  version. 
To  the  last  William  Cumin  he  assigns  as  widow,  not  Eva,  but 
Margerie — 

Of  these  Cumins  was  William  the  last  male  branch,  who  being  dead  in 
1 8  John  (1216),  Margerie  his  widow  (and  an  heir)  then  took  to  husband  William 
de  Hastings.  Which  William  Cumin  left  a  daughter  and  heir  called  Margerie, 
within  age  in  13  Hen.  III.  (1228-9),  an<^  ^n  ward  to  William  de  Cantilupe,  but 
afterwards  married  to  John  de  Cantilupe,  a  younger  son  to  the  said  William. 

His  authority  for  making  Margerie  the  widow  is  an  entry 
on  the  Close  Rolls  of  1216— 

Mandatum  est  vicecomiti  Warewic'  quod  faciat  habere  Willelmo  de  Hasting* 
dotem  uxoris  sue  que  earn  contingit  de  libero  tenemento  que  fuit  Willelmi 
Cumin  in  Shultenesfeld'  (Snitterfield)  * 

The  only  solution  I  can  suggest  is  that  there  were  two 
William  Cumins,  father  and  son,  of  whom  the  latter  died 
some  eight  years  after  his  father,  leaving  a  widow  Eva. 

1  Bractotfs   Note   Book,    ii.  695.    John  de   Mar(a)'s  name   is  there   given 
wrongly,  as  is  also  the  name  of  the  place. 

2  Ibid.  ii.  547.  a  Ed.  1730,  p.  661. 
«  Calendar  of  Close  Rolls  (folio),  i.  288b. 


148  THE   ANCESTOR 

Although  Snitterfield,  like  Halford  and  Avon  Dasset,  was 
in  Warwickshire  and  was  held  of  the  Earls  of  Warwick,  its 
tenure  was  quite  distinct  from  that  of  the  other  two  manors, 
and  was  unconnected  with  the  Giffards.  The  Testa  de 
Nevill  (pp.  98,  99)  shows  us  the  two  latter  places  held  by  '  the 
heir  of  Andrew  Giffard '  (the  last  Giffard  of  Fonthill),  and 
elsewhere  (p.  83)  shows  them  held  by  Robert  Mauduit, 
another  of  the  Giffard  coheirs.  But  Snitterfield  it  shows  us 
(on  p.  83)  held  by  the  above  W[illiam]  de  Canteloup,  and  on 
p.  98  held  by  John  de  Canteloup  (under  Thomas  de  Clinton).1 
The  Clinton  holding  under  the  earls  was  a  great  one,  and 
Abetot  may  have  been  mesne  lord  between  Clinton  and 
Cumin.  It  is  clear  in  any  case  that  Cumin,  who  was  appar- 
ently of  Scottish  extraction,  was  actual  tenant  of  Snitterfield, 
for  he  witnessed  as  lord  of  Snitterfield — with  Robert  his 
brother — a  Giffard  charter.2  Moreover  his  predecessor 
Walter  Cumin  was  evidently  holding  Snitterfield  under 
the  Earls  of  Warwick  as  early  as  1159,  for  he  appears  among 
the  earl's  knights  to  whom  their  scutage  was  remitted  in 
that  year.3  And  even  on  the  Pipe  Roll  of  1130  a  William 
Cumin  is  found  hi  the  district.  Scottish  genealogists  may  be 
able  to  affiliate  these  Cumins  and  to  tell  us  who  Eva  was. 

The  above  notes  will  at  least  clear  up  the  Cumins'  double 
tenure,  which  seems  to  have  caused  at  the  time  some  difficulty. 
To  the  sheriff  of  Warwickshire  letters  were  sent,  16  February 
1224,  to  make  inquisition — 

si  Willelmus  Cumin  tenuit  de  nobis  in  capite  per  servitium  militare  in 
Baillia  tua  et  si  per  inquisitionem  inde  factam  tibi  constiterit  ipsum  Willelmum 
de  nobis  non  tenuisse  per  servitium  militare  in  Baillia  tua,  tune  permittas 
Robertum  de  Maundevilla  et  alios  dominos  terre  que  fuit  ipsius  Willelmi  in 
Baillia  tua  plenam  inde  seisinam,  etc.4 

In  the  same  year  the  sheriff  of  Wilts  is  informed  that  the 
king  has  granted  to  Osbert  Giffard — 

custodiam  terre  et  heredis  Willelmi  Cumin  cum  maritagio  ipsius  heredis  que 
ad  dominum  Regem  spectat  eo  quod  terra  sua  de  Domino  Rege  tenuit  in  capite 
per  servitium  militare.'  5 

1  Compare  the  appearance  of  John  de  Canteloup,  as  representing  the  Cumin 
coheir  in  Testa,  p.  152. 

a  The  Giffards.    By  General  Wrottesley,  p.  1 1. 

3  Pipe  Roll  5  Hen.  II.  p.  26. 

*  Calendar  of  Close  Rolls  (folio),  i.  585^  *  Ibid.  p.  582. 


THE  CUMINS  OF  SNITTERFIELD      149 

The  two  widely  separated  estates  being  brought  by  the 
heiress  to  a  Cantelupe,  we  find  John  de  Cantelupe  receiving 
charters  for  a  market  at  his  manor  of  Snitterfield,  24  September 
1257,  and  for  free  warren  in  his  manor  of  Fonthill  (Giffard)  on 
the  same  day.1 

J.  HORACE  ROUND. 

1  Calendar  of  Charter  Rolls,  i.  474-5. 


150  THE   ANCESTOR 


WHAT   IS    BELIEVED 

Under  this  beading  the  Ancestor  will  call  the  attention  of  press 
and  public  to  much  curious  lore  concerning  genealogy,  heraldry 
and  the  like  with  which  our  magazines,  our  reviews  and  news- 
papers from  time  to  time  delight  us.  It  is  a  sign  of  awaken- 
ing interest  in  such  matters  that  the  subjects  with  which  the 
Ancestor  sets  itself  to  deal  are  becoming  less  and  less  the  sealed 
garden  of  a  few  workers.  But  upon  what  strange  food  the 
growing  appetite  for  popular  archeology  must  feed  will  be 
shown  in  the  columns  before  us.  Our  press,  the  best-informed 
and  the  most  widely  sympathetic  in  the  world,  which  watches 
its  record  of  science,  art  and  literature  with  a  jealous  eye,  still 
permits  itself,  in  this  little  corner  of  things,  to  be  victimized  by 
the  most  recklessly  furnished  information,  and  it  would  seem 
that  no  story  is  too  wildly  improbable  to  find  the  widest  cur- 
rency. It  is  no  criticism  for  attacking* s  sake  that  we  shall 
offer,  and  we  have  but  to  beg  the  distinguished  journals  from 
which  we  shall  draw  our  texts  for  comment  to  take  in  good 
part  what  is  offered  in  good  faith  and  good  humour. 

IT  happened  that  a  reviewer  of  the  Ancestor  in  a  morning 
newspaper  commented  upon  the  few  eminent  men  pro- 
duced by  a  certain  family  which  figured  in  our  series  of  the 
oldest  families.     The  next  morning  brought  his  answer  in 
the  shape  of  a  letter  to  the  editor. 

WHAT   ANCIENT   FAMILIES  fcHAVE    DONE. 

SIR, — The  remark  in  your  issue  of  the  yth  inst.  that '  politicians  have  noticed 
that  families  of  very  long  descent  have  in  many  cases  failed  to  produce  such 
eminent  men  as  occasional  bishops  or  judges,'  is  an  unjustifiable  sneer.  Men  of 
gentle  birth  entitled  to  wear  swords  have  ever  deemed  that  the  profession  of 
arms  was  their  natural  calling,  as  the  rolls  of  honour  of  England,  Scotland,  and 
Ireland  amply  testify,  from  long  before  the  days  of  Drake  and  Howard  to  those 
of  Nelson  and  Wellesley  down  to  the  present  day.  The  foundations  of  the 
British  Empire  have  been  well  cemented  with  the  blood  of  scions  of  ancient  and 
honourable  families  who  died  for  God,  King,  and  country  while  leading  the  way 
to  victory.  Neither  journals  nor  magazines  then  existed  for  the  most  part  to 
advertise  their  achievements,  and  latter-day  critics  can  form  no  idea  of  the 
feelings  of  chivalry  which  have  ever  caused  men  of  good  blood  to  be  silent  as  to 
their  own  deeds,  and  ever  to  stand  aside  and  allow  others  to  reap  the  fame  and 
rewards  that  they  themselves  have  won  on  many  a  hard-fought  field  of  battle 


WHAT   IS    BELIEVED  151 

by  sea  and  land.  For  many  generations  the  legal  and  clerical  professions  were 
considered  none  too  honourable  callings,  and  not  altogether  without  reason, 
though  happily  times  have  changed,  and  they  are  nowadays  honourable  enough. 
That  the  names  of  men  of  old  family  are  not  more  often  seen  in  prominent  posi- 
tions of  civilian  life  only  proves  that  they  are  few  in  numbers  as  compared  with 
the  crowds  of  self-seeking,  pushing,  and  ambitious  men  of  humbler  extraction, 
striving  to  win  notice  for  themselves.  And  here,  again,  the  feelings  of  chivalry 
cause  men  of  birth  more  frequently  than  not  to  stand  aside  to  allow  others  to 
gain  the  prizes  that  they  themselves  might,  if  they  chose,  have  won.  As  a  man 
of  ancient  and  honourable  descent,  but  disliking  self-advertisement,  I  subscribe 
myself,  yours,  etc., 

IGNOTUS. 

This  letter  of  Ignotus  deserves  the  few  more  readers  which 
the  Ancestor  can  give  it.  It  is  a  touching  instance  of  the 
pious  belief  which  the  general  public  born  after  the  publication 
of  the  Waverley  Novels  keeps  in  the  Old  England  and  the  old 
times  of  the  romancer.  Ignotus  might  sign  himself  Legion, 
and  be  within  the  truth.  In  the  curl  of  every  sentence  we 
have  the  middle  ages  of  the  Keepsakes  and  the  Giftbooks.  In 
midstage  is  the  soldier  radiant  in  white  steel,  the  white  ostrich 
plumes  billowing  down  his  back.  Crouching  in  the  wings  are 
the  flabby  priest,  the  scrivening  lawyer,  and  the  base  merchant. 
The  peasant,  comic  in  his  vileness,  makes  a  background  for 
the  knight,  who  with  his  mouth  full  of  vows  to  God,  the  pea- 
cock and  the  ladies  goes  splendidly  about  his  quest  of  honour 
and  the  smiles  of  those  in  the  balconies. 

The  very  phrase  of  '  men  of  gentle  birth  entitled  to  wear 
swords  '  takes  us  to  the  land  of  such  fancies  where  the  wearing 
of  a  sword  is  such  a  distinction  as  can  be  allowed  only  to  the 
gently  born.  The  sight  of  a  roll  of  pleas  of  the  crown  will 
correct  any  impression  that  this  land  was  England  in  the 
Middle  Ages.  And  England  of  no  later  time  will  encourage 
the  belief.  The  eighteenth  century  saw  swords  peep  from  the 
skirts  of  many  fine  gentlemen,  but  the  wearing  was  no  privilege 
of  caste.  Any  likely  young  fellow  in  his  holiday  suit  might 
buckle  one  on  without  showing  shield  or  pedigree.  William 
Hogarth  for  one  was  vilain  if  we  search  an  ancestry  for  him, 
but  nevertheless  when  a  guinea  or  two  came  in  from  his  plates 
he  would  put  on  his  sword  and  walk  the  Mall  with  the  best. 

*         *         * 

It  may  be  that  Ignotus  does  not  speak  of  the  wearing  of 
a  sword  at  home,  but  would  have  us  believe  that  the  privilege 
of  wielding  one  in  a  field  of  France  or  Scotland  belonged  to 


152  THE   ANCESTOR 

the  gently  born.  Again  the  records  will  not  help  him. 
Caesar  might  write  of  the  Gauls  that  they  loved  fine  speeches 
and  military  affairs,  and  the  Gauls'  descendants  keep  these 
tastes.  But  we  English,  although  sinfully  fond  of  a  brawl, 
have  been  ever  inclined,  until  Mr.  Kipling  came  to  rebuke  us, 
to  despise  military  affairs  and  the  soldier's  calling.  The  belief 
of  the  village  mother,  whose  son  has  gone  for  a  soldier,  that 
her  child  is  now  a  wastrel  and  the  companion  of  the  gallows- 
worthy,  reflects  truly  enough  the  feeling  of  the  old  English 
household  of  all  ranks.  We  recall  the  Jacobean  will  of  a  well- 
born squire  who  has  found  a  younger  son  smoking  a  certain 
herb  detestable  to  the  father.  Forthwith  the  son  is  cut  off 
with  a  shilling,  and  the  father  sets  down  in  his  will  his  fore- 
bodings of  the  wretchedness  to  which  that  son  will  come. 
Yes,  he  will  become,  for  all  the  broken-hearted  father  can  see, 
a  serving-man  '  or  a  souldier*  both  callings  in  which,  as  the 
old  squire  bitterly  observes,  in  which  a  young  man  '  may  enjoy 
a  pipe  of  tabacko.' 

*         *         * 

The  spirit  of  Falstaff's  ragged  regiment  was  too  often  in 
those  whom  the  sheriff's  levies  or  the  king's  writ  forced  to  the 
wars.  To  serve  the  king  in  his  wars  was  the  felon's  loophole 
for  escape.  The  great  baron,  locked  up  in  steel,  with  his 
banner  and  pennon  going  before  him,  saw  the  world  not 
unpleasantly  in  the  king's  host,  and  the  pay  was  welcome  in 
his  purse.  The  knight  and  the  squire,  if  they  prayed  before 
battle  after  the  fashion  of  Arcite  and  Palamon,  would  have 
left  Mars  and  Venus  for  the  shrine  of  Mercurius.  The  love 
tales  of  those  business-like  ages  taught  gentlemen,  as  in  Petit 
Jeban  de  Saintre,  that  if  they  loved  far  amours  something 
might  be  made  out  of  the  lady's  affections.  And  war 
likewise  was  something  which  carried  the  possibility  of  a 
plump  prisoner  whose  ransom  might  fill  their  hands  with 
gold  pieces ;  or  if  ransom  were  not  to  be  looked  for,  the 
prisoner  might  be  knocked  on  the  head  and  his  fine  coat  and 
plates  happed  up  in  a  handy  bundle.  With  men  of  ancient 
and  honourable  descent  treachery  was  also  a  marketable 
article.  The  surrender  of  a  strong  place  for  the  sake  of  a 
bribe  would  make  Europe  ashamed  if  a  modern  captain  did 
the  deed.  Under  the  mere  suspicion  of  such  a  wickedness 
Bazaine  died  as  a  leper  and  an  exile.  But  any  old  chronicler 
has  a  dozen  stories  for  you  which  go  to  show  that  to  the  old 


WHAT    IS    BELIEVED  153 

chivalry  the  jangling  of  crowns  in  a  bag  was  a  temptation  which 
many  could  not  abide. 

The  '  men  of  good  blood  silent  as  to  their  own  deeds  '  were 
doubtless  ancestors  of  Ignotus  in  the  direct  line,  and  for  them 
he  must  be  responsible.  We  do  not  find  them  amongst  the 
chieftains  who  maintained  bards  that  no  crumb  of  their 
achievements  should  go  unmultiplied  to  the  loaf  of  legend. 
And  in  the  many-coloured  life  of  the  middle  ages  we  find 
them  not,  for  chronicle,  book  and  ballad  speak  loudly  of  a 
braggart  age.  More  than  one  Elizabethan  hero  wrote  his  own 
tale  for  fear  that  aught  of  his  fame  should  be  lost,  and  the 
practice  shows  no  sign  of  being  abandoned  by  our  great  com- 
manders. 

If  we  may  follow  the  argument  of  Ignotus  the  *  hard 
fought  battle  by  sea  and  land  '  is  won  either  invariably  or  as  a 
general  rule  by  *  men  of  good  blood.'  These,  it  would  seem, 
are  accompanied  to  the  field  by  certain  plebeians  to  whom  the 
fame  and  rewards  incident  upon  the  victory  are  silently 
handed  by  the  victors.  If  this  be  so,  the  shy  patricians  must 
have  suffered  a  long  vexation  from  the  writings  of  the  chroni- 
clers and  historians,  who,  disregarding  the  delicate  feelings 
of  chivalry,  have  from  the  beginning  of  time  given  all  honour, 

fame  and  applause  to  the  well-born  combatant. 

•  •         • 

The  names  picked  by  Ignotus  to  point  his  argument  are 
somewhat  unfortunately  chosen.  The  ancient  and  honour- 
able descent,  the  *  good  blood '  of  Drake  or  Nelson  might  be 
questioned  by  any  genealogist.  France,  which  in  the  past 
drew  that  sharp  line  between  gentle  and  simple  which  we 
never  saw  in  England,  found  a  Ney  and  a  Murat  who  would 
go  as  far  as  a  Cond6  or  a  Turenne.  The  one  great  medieval 
commander  of  English  birth  who  made  a  name  and  figure  in 
mid-Europe  was  Giovanni  Aguto — English  John  Hawkwood, 
the  tailor's  son  from  Essex.  For  Ignotus  the  knight  on  the 
barded  horse,  the  admiral  in  a  cocked  hat  are  the  heroes  upon 
whom  Fame  should  wait,  with  the  mouthpiece  of  her  trumpet 
near  her  lips,  but  our  own  age  has  learned  to  its  advantage  to 
see  the  bare-legged  billmen  tramping  before  the  knight,  and 

the  handy  man  standing  by  the  admiral. 

*  *         * 

The  saying  that  l  the  legal  and  clerical  professions  were 
considered  none  too  honourable  callings '  at  some  unspecified 


154  THE   ANCESTOR 

period  of  the  middle  ages  or  renascence  is  a  hard  one,  and  one 
reflecting  upon  the  *  men  of  ancient  and  honourable  descent ' 
for  whom  Ignotus  would  speak,  for  Courtenays,  Scropes, 
Graunsons,  Nevills  and  Greys  filled  many  a  see  and  enjoyed 
many  a  fat  beneficence  in  the  old  days,  to  the  envy  of  their 
fellows.  As  for  the  legal  profession,  it  was  the  stay  and  prop 
of  nobility.  The  gentleman  who  was  not  something  of  a 
lawyer  was  for  centuries  reckoned  a  boor ;  there  are  very  few 
indeed  of  our  really  ancient  houses  which  have  not  at  one  time 
or  another  mended  their  fortunes  by  the  law. 

*         #         # 

To  sum  up,  let  us  say  that  England  had  never  a  noble 
and  gentle  caste  unless  it  were  in  the  Yellowplush  days  of  the 
early  nineteenth  century.  It  is  the  business  of  the  antiquary 
and  genealogist  to  show  that  England  has  an  ancestor  in  a 
frieze  coat  as  well  as  an  ancestor  in  cloth  of  gold,  and  'enough 
reason  to  be  proud  of  both. 

»         •         • 

The  death  of  Lord  Alington  has  revived  the  fame  of  yet 
another  of  those  great  officers  who  surrounded  Duke  William 
at  Hastings,  even  as  Napoleon  is  surrounded  by  his  marshals 
in  a  canvas  of  Vernet  or  Meissonier.  Newspapers,  and  here 
and  there  an  old-fashioned  peerage  book,  alone  keep  their 
fame  green,  for  these  disinterested  warriors  are  never  found 
in  the  crabbed  paragraphs  of  Domesday  book.  They  came 
here  to  fight  at  Senlac  and  to  found  families  of  Georgian  and 
Victorian  peers.  Manors  and  rents  they  sought  not. 

Though  Lord  Alington  was  only  made  a  peer  in  1876,  he  came  of  a  family 
of  ancient  lineage,  one  of  his  ancestors  being  Sir  Hildebrand  de  Alington,  who 
was  marshal  to  William  the  Conqueror  at  the  Battle  of  Hastings. 

We  have  before  this  debated  upon  the  right  of  a  family  to 
select  any  one  of  the  million  forefathers  from  whom  they  may 
descend  in  the  female  line  as  the  ancestor  and  founder  of  their 
family.  When  we  speak  of  a  man's  ancient  lineage  we  mean, 
in  England  at  least,  that  his  father's  family  was  an  ancient  one. 
Lord  Alington's  paternal  line  of  Sturt  begins  a  respectable 
pedigree  with  a  Hampshire  family  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
from  whom  rose  a  London  alderman  of  the  time  of  William 
and  Mary.  The  nearest  Alington  ancestor  of  the  late  peer 
was  his  great-grandfather's  mother's  mother.  It  may  be 
presumed  that  the  family  of  Alington  bred  and  married  off  as 


WHAT   IS    BELIEVED  155 

many  daughters  as  sons,  so  that  had  Sir  Hildebrand  not  only 
marshalled  the  Conqueror's  army  but  also  enjoyed  an  objec- 
tive existence,  the  privilege  of  descent  from  him  might  have 
been  shared  by  most  living  Englishmen.  It  is  true  that  the 
late  Lord  Alington  was  heir-general  to  the  extinct  Alingtons, 
barons  of  Horseheath,  but  such  a  descent  does  not  in  itself 
give  the  boast  of '  ancient  lineage  '  to  the  family  enjoying  it. 

#  *         * 

Mr.  R.  Cavendish,  whilst  contradicting  in  a  letter  to  the 
newspapers  the  incorrect  statement  that  the  Dukes  of  Devon- 
shire spring  from  the  famous  servant  and  biographer  of  Wol- 
sey,  brings  to  light  an  ancient  and  half  forgotten  ancestor  of 
the  Cavendishes.  According  to  Mr.  Cavendish, 

The  Duke  is  a  lineal  descendant  of  Roger  de  Gernon,  who  came  over1,  with 
the  Conqueror. 

For  a  hundred  years  even  the  peerages  have  been  dis- 
allowing Roger  de  Gernon's  claim  as  a  Cavendish  ancestor. 
That  the  tale  of  him  should  re-appear  in  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury shows  that  the  Elizabethan  pedigree-mongers,  who  set 
him  at  the  top  of  the  Cavendish  pedigree,  wrote  with  an 
immortal  ink  against  which  criticism  will  not  prevail.  No 
evidence  for  the  story  of  Gernon  and  Cavendish  is  forth- 
coming, but  we  may  let  it  rest  undisturbed  upon  the  reason- 
able belief  that  a  duke's  ancestor  must  necessarily  have  landed 

at  Pevensey. 

#  *          # 

By  the  aid  of  the  newspapers  we  shall  soon  make  of  these 
columns  a  patchwork  Golden  Book  of  those  English  families 
which  look  down  upon  our  Norman-English  houses  as  the 
children  of  new  men  and  interlopers.  The  growing  passion 
for  genealogy  demands  that  a  piece  of  pedigree  should  follow 
each  newspaper  paragraph  announcing  death  or  marriage  or 
social  and  political  distinction.  Our  first  Saxon  shall  be  Sir 
Thomas  Edward  Milborne-Swinnerton-Pilkington. 

The  Pilkingtons  are  a  family  who  held  a  good  estate  long  before  the  Conquest, 
and  the  single  name,  held  in  honour  in  the  north  for  many  centuries,  was  a  good 
enough  description  until  the  eighth  baronet  married  Mary,  second  daughter 
and  coheiress  of  Thomas  Swinnerton  of  Butterton  Hall. 

For  a  commentary  on  this  statement  the  reader  of  the 
Ancestor  may  turn  the  page  to  Mr.  Bird's  learned  article  on 


156  THE   ANCESTOR 

the  Traffords,  where  he  will  hear  from  one  speaking  with 
authority  that  '  the  early  history  of  the  Pilkingtons  is  all  un- 
known ;  but  instead  of  being  Saxon  irreconcilables  they  were 
more  probably  on  the  side  of  the  invader,  for  Pilkington  was 
held  of  the  baron  [of  Manchester]  by  knight's  service.'  The 
first  part  of  Mr.  Bird's  statement  was  admitted  by  the  family 
when  a  volume  of  Pilkington  genealogies  was  printed  some 
years  since,  for  no  pre-Conquest  ancestor  was  produced,  and 
the  earlier  generations  from  the  Conquest  were  occupied  with 
improbably  named  knights  for  whom,  as  was  admitted,  no 
apology  could  be  made  to  the  antiquary. 

•  *         • 

The  Duke  of  Norfolk's  marriage,  as  might  have  been  ex- 
pected, brought  Hereward  the  Wake  a  dozen  times  bowing 
before  the  curtain.  A  single  quotation  will  serve  for  many. 

The  Duke's  ancestry  goes  to  the  back  of  beyond  of  history.  He  shares  King 
Edward's  Plantagenet  ancestry,  and  so  comes  from  the  Saxon  Kings.  Perhaps 
his  proudest  boast  is  that  his  name  of  Howard  is  merely  that  of  his  ancestor, 
Hereward  the  Wake,  whose  representative,  Sir  Herewald  Wake,  is  still  in  North- 
amptonshire, as  his  family  has  been  for  over  six  centuries.  He  is  the  fifteenth 
holder  of  his  dukedom,  and  but  for  mysterious  attainders,  which  were  subse- 
quently cancelled,  would  be  about  the  nineteenth. 

*  *  * 

It  is  the  misfortune  of  the  great  house  of  Howard  of 
Norfolk  that  their  high  estate  has  made  them  the  sport  of 
pedigree-mongers.  '  Aubery,  earl  of  Passey,'  at  some  vague 
pre-conquest  date  was  for  a  long  time  the  forefather  of  whom 
the  genealogist  exhorted  them  to  make  '  their  proudest  boast.' 
But  Aubery,  having  watched  for  a  while  at  the  head  of  the 
pedigree,  was  relieved  by  the  more  famous  name  of  the  half- 
mythical  Hereward,  from  whom,  as  Dugdale  relates,  ( some 
have  not  stuck  to  derive  '  the  house  of  Norfolk,  the  Hereward 
who  was  already  pressed  as  an  ancestor  for  the  Northampton- 
shire Wakes.  In  both  cases  the  Hereward  myth  rests  upon  the 
assertions  of  genealogists  as  impudent  as  unskilful,  and  it  is 
worthy  of  note  that  whilst  the  Wakes  have  taken  the  fabrica- 
tion to  their  hearts,  the  great  family  pedigree  made  by  Howards 
for  Howards  is  content  to  derive  their  famous  line  from  their 
first  known  ancestor,  William  Howard,  a  judge  in  1293.  In 
the  face  of  this  fact  it  is  surely  a  hard  thing  that  the  descendant 
of  the  victor  of  Flodden  should  have  a  myth  thrust  upon  him 
to  which  his  family  have  ever  refused  countenance. 


WHAT   IS    BELIEVED     .  157 

Arundel  Castle  has  also  been  stormed  and  taken  by  the 
paragraphers.  Again  it  is  proclaimed  that  the  mere  ownership 
of  Arundel  gives  an  earldom  to  the  duke,  a  statement  incon- 
sistent with  the  fact  that  the  earldom  of  Arundel  is  enjoyed  by 
the  duke  under  the  entail  created  by  an  Act  of  1627.  At  least 
one  of  our  illustrated  journals  has  discovered  a  line  of  earls  of 
Arundel  before  the  conquest,  ending  with  Harold  son  of 
Godwin,  Earl  of  Arundel  and  king  of  the  English.  And  the 
foundations  of  Arundel  Castle  are  described  to  us  as  of  herring- 
bone brickwork,  and  therefore  of  the  age  of  the  Druids  ! 

*  #         * 

An  evening  paper  enables  us  to  welcome  back  to  the 
printed  line  and  the  light  of  day  a  picturesquely  named  an- 
cestor. Lady  Clifford  of  Chudleigh,  who  is  to  break  a  bottle 
over  the  prow  of  the  Devonshire,  is  hailed  as 

a  Towneley  of  Towneley — a  Lancastrian  family  that  reckons  itself  up  as 
Lords  of  Towneley  since  the  remote  antiquity  of  Spartlingus,  Dean  of 
Whalley. 

Spartlingus  of  the  ninth  century,  in  his  remote  antiquity, 
is  safe  from  questioning  genealogists.  It  is  an  unlikely  thing 
that  any  record  will  leap  to  light  to  gratify  the  entirely  modern 
taste  for  demanding  proofs  of  kinship.  Whitaker,  in  his  his- 
tory of  Whalley,  accepted  in  simple  faith  Spartlingus  and  his 
line,  which  line  included  a  Towneley  ancestor  with  the  even 
pleasanter  name  of  Liwlphus  Cutwolphe,  of  whom  is  told, 
says  Whitaker,  '  a  wild  and  picturesque  story  that  he  cut  off 
the  tail  of  a  wolf  while  hunting  in  Rossendale.'  This  may  be 
an  early  instance  of  the  taking  of  a  brush,  but  in  any  case  we 
have  an  interesting  note  of  what  in  the  eyes  of  the  learned 
Whitaker  gave  wildness  and  picturesqueness  to  a  story. 

*  *         * 

But  the  Towneley  ancestor  is  not  to  be  found  amongst  the 
Deans  of  Whalley,  but  in  John  o'  the  Legh,  a  fourteenth  cen- 
tury gentleman  who  married  a  coheir  of  the  old  lords  of  Towne- 
ley. As  will  be  imagined,  the  Clifford  paragraph  in  reciting  the 
honours  of  Clifford  includes  the  shadowy  countship  of  the 
Holy  Roman  Empire  derived  from  a  marriage  with  an  Arun- 
dell  of  Wardour.  An  article  in  an  earlier  volume  of  the 
Ancestor  has  pointed  out  that  the  doctrine  which  gives  the 
countship  to  Lord  Clifford  would  fill  Europe  with  counts  of 
the  empire. 


158  THE   ANCESTOR 

Our  next  Anglo-Saxon  is  Lord  Derby.  A  very  busy 
paragraph  taking  many  forms  and  sometimes  expanding  to 
an  article,  may  be  recorded  in  its  shortest  form  : — 

Lord  Derby  had  an  ancestor  in  England — William  Stanley  of  Stanley — 
fifty  years  before  the  battle  of  Hastings. 

The  origin  of  such  an  ancestral  tale  is  as  a  rule  not  far  to  seek. 
The  nearest  peerage  will  afford  in  its  first  paragraph  of  *  line- 
age '  a  closely  packed  version  of  the  Elizabethan  or  Victorian 
family  legend  upon  which  the  fore-conquest  ancestor  may 
stand.  The  peerage  if  consulted  under  Derby  will  certainly 
give  antiquity  to  the  Stanleys  with  no  grudging  hand.  With 
Adam  they  begin,  not  Adam  the  lord  of  Eden  garden,  but 
Adam  de  Aldithley,  who  accompanied  Duke  William  from 
Aldithley  in  Normandy,  a  fair  town  without  doubt,  and  as 
improbably  named  as  any  Norman  lordship  we  have  yet 
encountered.  But  even  this  generous  narrative  does  not 
give  the  manor  of  Stanley  and  the  surname  derived  from  it 
to  any  direct  ancestor  of  the  Earl  of  Derby  nearer  to  the 
Conquest  than  Adam's  grandson. 

We  may  be  unduly  suspicious  of  treachery — our  English 
nerves  under  a  halfpenny  press  are  no  longer  what  they  were 
under  a  penny  press — but  we  resent  William  Stanley  of 
Stanley's  presence  in  England  fifty  years  before  the  unfortu- 
nate incident  of  the  battle  of  Hastings.  To  us  he  is  a  sus- 
picious character,  this  pretended  Englishman  with  the  very 
French  name  of  William.  In  our  opinion  he  was  nothing 
better  than  a  Norman  spy,  and  we  despise  our  Staffordshire 
forefathers  in  that  they  did  not  suspect  him,  if  only  for  the 
sham  English  surname  with  which  he  disguised  himself,  at  a 
date  long  before  territorial  surnames  obtained  in  England. 
Genealogists  with  Lord  Derby's  pedigree  at  heart,  a  pedigree 
which  the  commonplace  facts  and  dates  of  records  would 
probably  carry  to  the  twelfth  century,  should  bestir  them- 
selves and  see  whether  '  William  de  Stanley  of  Stanley,'  circa 
1016,  cannot  be  escorted  to  the  frontiers  of  history. 


A  FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  ROLL    OF  ARMS 

(Continued  from  Vol.  VII.  215) 

Gules   a   wave  silver   between    six   billets   silver.     RYCHARD 

CHARPYS  [vet  CHAPPYS]. 
Silver  a  bend  sable  with  a  silver  wolf  running  thereon.    TOMAS 

WOLWELEY. 
Sable  a  cheveron  silver  between  three  ladies'  heads  silver  cut 

off  at  the  neck.     JOHN  KYLWYNGETON. 
Gules  and  ermine  quarterly  with  a  goat's  head  razed  silver  in 

each  gules  quarter.     RYCHARD  MORTON. 
Gold  three  cheverons  gules  with  three  golden  flews  de  lys  on 

each.     SIR  FITZ  RAWFE. 

Sable  three  leaping  goats  silver.     JOHN  GAYTFORDE. 
Gules  powdered  with  crosslets  fitchy  silver  and  three  silver 

fleurs  de  lys  out  of  silver  leopards'  heads.      SIR  HARREY 

NEVYLLE. 
Ermine  a  bend  sable   with    three    silver   goats'  heads  razed 

thereon.     SIR  TOMAS  MOWLSOW. 
Sable  a  cheveron  gules  between   three   silver   cups   without 

covers.     JOHN  CAUNDYSCH. 


Quarterly  ermine  and  azure  with  a  rising  falcon  of  gold  in  the 

azure  quarters.     WYLYAM  COLLENGE. 
Green  a  bend  gules  with  three  golden  *  cinqfoils  thereon. 
Azure  six  lioncels  silver  and  a  quarter  ermine.     SIR  JOHN 

CHAYNE. 

1  The  colours  of  the  bend  and  the  cinqfoils  are  perhaps  mistaken. 

169 


i6o 


THE   ANCESTOR 


Green  a  cheveron  silver  with  three  harts'  heads  gules. 
Silver  three  bellows  sable.     JOHN  SHYPTON. 
Gules  a  lion  sable  with  ermyne  appon  the  sabyll.     TOMAS  TYM- 
PYRLEY. 


Silver  three  fleurs  de  lys  gules.     JOHN  OSBERNE. 

Gold  three  lions'  heads  sable  razed.     NYCOLAS  KENTON. 

Sable  two  silver  greyhounds  with  collars  rampant  back  to  back 

and  looking  back  at  each  other.     NYCLAS  BARNARD. 
Azure  three  swimming  roach  silver.     SIR  JOHN  ROCHE. 
Silver  a  chief  gules  with  a  sable  martlet  in  the  chief.   GYLBERD 

WAUTON. 

Azure  three  golden  dolphins.     TOMAS  WARRE. 
Azure  with  drops  of  gules  and  a  cheveron  gold  between  three 

golden  lions'  heads  razed.     TOMAS  WYNDHAM. 
Wavy  gules  and  silver.     JOHN  PELMORBA. 
Purple  a  cheveron  gold  engrailed  between  three  fleurs  de  lys 

gold.     PYERSSE  OSSANNE. 

Silver  a  lion  cheeky  gold  and  azure.     SIR  RAWFE  DE  COBHAM. 
Gules  three  lions  passant  ermine  with  crowns  of  gold.    TOMAS 

FELTON. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS 


161 


Silver  three  bearded  Saracens'  heads  *  of  sable  with   golden 
wreaths.     TOMAS  WYSE. 


Gules  four  lions  silver  and  a  silver  quarter  with   a  crescent 

gules  thereon. 
...  a  cross  engrailed  of  sable  between  four  green  does'  heads 

cut  off  at  the  neck. 
Sable  a  buckled  garter  between    three   buckle  ends.     JOHN 

BOKELAND. 


Azure  three  hanks  of  silver  twine  wound  about  three  golden 

sticks.2     WYLYAM  HONTT. 
Silver  three  horse  barnacles  sable.     WYLYAM  BARNARD  [rectius 

BARNAKE]. 
Sable  a  silver  swan  with  a  golden  crescent   on    his    breast. 

TOMAS  COLBY. 

1  The  heads  may  be  those  of  the  three  wise  men. 
2  The  charges  are  somewhat  uncertain. 


162 


THE    ANCESTOR 


Ermine  three  running  unicorns  of  gules.    WYLYAM  UPP  TOMAS. 

Sable  a  cheveron  silver  between  three  pair  of  interlaced 
triangles — or  pentacles — of  silver. 

Silver  two  crossed  grosyng  eyrnes  between  four  malets  [corrected 
in  a  later  hand  to  nayles]  all  sable  and  a  chief  azure  with 
a  demi-leopard  [GLASIERS  COTE  *]  passant  gold. 

OLDE   LORDYS   OF   TYME   PAST 

Vairy.     LORD  AMONDWYLE. 

Gules  a  fesse  vair  between  three  fleurs  de  lys  out  of  leopards' 

heads.     LORD  CANTLEY  [CANTELOW]. 
Silver  a  chief  indented  azure. 

Quarterly  gold  and  gules  with  a  border  vair.     [FITZ  JOHN/] 
Gold  a  bend  vair  and  a  border  gules  engrailed. 
Azure  a  bend  and  six  martlets  of  gold. 
Gules  a  bend  engrailed  gold.     [MARSHALL.1] 
Azure  six  lioncels  gold.     [Over  this  shield  is   written    'The 

armes  of  seynt  Tybbaute  vj  crosseys  botton  pychey  of  gold  the 

filld gules.   Under  the  shield  in  a  later  hand  is  LONGSPEE.] 
A  fesse  between  six  crosslets  formy  fitchy  all  party  athwart  and 

countercoloured  silver  and  sable.    WYLYAM  COTYNGHAM. 
Azure  a  bend  gules  with  three  silver  dolphins  thereon.  SEWYN 

EDNAM. 
Silver  a  dance  paly  gules  and  sable   between  three  pierced 

molets  sable.     [MooRE.1] 
Sable  three  pickaxes  silver.     EDEMOND  CHYRE  [also  PIGOT  l]. 

Over  this  shield  is  pasted  another — Gold  a  lion  azure  and 

a  label  gules.     COUNT  DE  WORCESTYR. 
Gules  a  silver  fesse  engrailed  between  three  bulls'  heads  gold. 

TOMAS  TORRELL. 

1  In  a  later  hand. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS         163 

Silver  a  cheveron  gules  between  three  lodged  harts  of  gules. 

SYMOND  HEGGYS. 
Sable  a  pair  of  wings  points  upwards  razed  from  the  shoulder. 

JOHN  BRESYNGHAM. 
Silver  two  waves  sable  and  a  chief  sable  with  a  leopard  gold 

thereon.     STEWYN  PERCY. 

Gold  three  bulls'  heads  gules.     WYLYAM  BOULL. 
Party  silver  and  azure  cheveronwise  with  three  pomanders  [?] 

hanging  each  from  a  chain  and  ring,  the  one  in  the  foot 

being  gold,   the  others  having  no  colour  shown.     SIR 

TOMAS  OF  BRETLYS. 
Sable  a  fesse  ermine  between  three  cups  silver.     WYLYAM  OF 

GRANTHAM. 
Silver  three  plain  crosses  fitchy  sable  with  a  border  gules. 

TOMAS  CHESENALE. 
Green  six  lioncels  silver. 
Gules  three  golden  eel-bucks. 
Silver  a  cheveron  between  three  eagles  gules.     SIR  ROBARD 

FRAUNCYS. 
Azure  a  bend  gold  with   four  [sic]  pierced  molets  of  silver 

thereon.1     WYLYAM  RYNGEBORNE. 
Sable  three  wells  silver.     WYLYAM  BORTON. 
Gules  four  bars  ermine  and  a  border  ermine.     SIR   NYCOLL 

DABERYCHCORT.2 

Azure  three  horse  heads  gold  cut  off  at  the  neck  with  silver 

bridles.     JOHN  HORSLEYE. 
Azure  a  crescent  gold  between  three  fleurs  de  lys  gold.     JOHN 

FLORRE. 
Silver  three  roundels  gules  each  azure  and  gules  cheveronny. 

WYLYAM  CARRANT. 
Green  a  cheveron  gold  between   three  pierced  molets  gold. 

SIR  JOHN  POUDSAY. 
Gules  a  cheveron  azure  between   three  owls  silver.      JOHN 

SLYE. 

Gold  a  hart's  head  gules.     WYLYAM  POLE. 
Silver  and  sable  gyronny  with  a  quarter  gules  and  a  silver  cup 

thereon.     JOHN  STRETLEY. 
Gules  three  pomelled  crosslets  fitchy  gold.     SEYNT  TYBAWTE 

1  The  great  plenty  of  shields  with  what  the  heraldry  books  style  *  colour 
on  colour '  and  *  metal  on  metal '  will  be  noted. 

3  The  Dabridgecourt  shield  is  misapprehended,  being  really  of  ermine 
with  three  hamedes  (  =  barriers  or  trunked  bars)  of  gules. 


164 


THE   ANCESTOR 


knyght.     The  blazon  of  this  shield  on  an  earlier  page  calls 

them  bottony,  which  is  probably  the  accurate  contemporary 

blazon. 
Silver  a  chief  of  green  with  a  T-cross  between  two  pierced 

molets  of  gold.     HARRY  DREWRY. 
Gules  a  fesse  silver  between  three  chessrooks  silver  with  three 

roses  gules  on  the  fesse.     JOHN  ROKYS. 
Gold  three  bars  gules  and  a  quarter  ermine.     NYCOLAS  GAW- 

SELL. 
Silver  a  fesse  of  green  indented  with  sable  and  a  border  sable. 

JOHN  HODY. 
Gold  six  voided  lozenges  sable  (three  and  three).     WYLYAM 

CREDY. 
Sable  a  fesse  ermine  engrailed  between  three  hawks  silver  with 

their  bells  and  jesses.     JOHN  FAWKYS. 
Silver  a  saltire  and  a  chief  of  gules  with  three  silver  escallops 

in  the  chief.     SIR  WATYR  TAYLBOYS. 
Sable  a  fesse  silver  between  three  goats'  heads  razed  ermine. 

JOHN  FERBY. 
Silver  a  chief  gules  and  six  martlets  countercoloured.     SIR 

HARRY  FENWYK. 
Gules  a  bend  azure  with  three  golden  fleurs  de  lys  thereon. 

SIR  JOHN  CHAYNE. 
Azure  three  piles  gold.     SIR  GYE  DE  BRYAN. 


Bendy  azure  and  gold  with  a  quarter  ermine.  SIR  WYLYAM 
BYSCHOPPYSTON. 

...  a  dance  paly  gules  and  sable  between  three  pierced  mo- 
lets  .  .  . 

Azure  a  fesse  gold  between  three  golden  urchins.  JOHN 
ABBRALL. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS 


.65 


Sable  a  dance  gold  between  three  martlets  gold.     JOHN  SKOG- 

GAM. 
WHYCHECOTE  of  Lyncolneshire  berytb  iij  bores  gules  w*  a  fyld  of 

silver.     The  boars  are  one  under  the  other.     The  shield 

is  crossed  out. 
Gold  a  lodged  hart  azure.     JOHN  TREDERFFE. 


Silver  a  chief  gules  with   a   golden   lion   over   all.     TOMAS 

CHAWSERYS. 
Party  azure   and   green   with    three   voided   cheverons  .  .  . 

JOHN  SAYE/ 
Gules  a  silver  hand  between  three  silver  cinqfoils.     RYCHARD 

WORSOPPE. 

Gules  six  billets  of  ermine. 
Burelly  ermyn  and  ermyne.     WYLYAM  BEDFORD. 
Gules  a  cross  silver  bylytte  of  sabyll.     TOMAS  GAMSON. 
Sable  two  bars  gold  and  a  chief  silver  with  a  crescent  sable 

thereon.     SIR  RYCHARD  FROGNALE. 

1  Sir  John  Saye  of  Broxbourne,  for  whose  coat  this  seems  to  be  meant,  bore 
party  azure  and  gules  with  three  golden  voided  cheverons,  the  field  within  the 
cheverons  being  party  gules  and  azure. 


1 66 


THE    ANCESTOR 


Silver  a  cheveron  gules  between  three  green  sheaves  of  broom. 

ToMAS  PoRTHALYNE. 

Party  silver  and  gules.     SIR  RYCHARD  WALGRAWE. 

Sable  a  cheveron  silver  between  three  harts'  heads  silver  with 

horns  of  gold.     JOHN  HERTTLYNGTON. 
Wavy  sable  and  silver.     SIR  GYLBERD  DELAFELD. 
Gules  a  border  silver  with  roundels  of  gules. 


Azure  a  leaping  fox  of  silver  carrying  off  a  goose. 

Gold  a  bend  sable   between   two   more   of  sable   engrailed. 

WHYTFELDE. 
Ermine  a  chief  indented  sable  with  two  boars'  heads  of  gold 

armyd  w*  sylver.     HARRY  SOULBY.     [SANDFORD  idem.1] 


Sable  three    [running  ?]  goats   silver,    one  below  the  other, 

with  bells  at  their  collars.     JAMYS  STANSFELDE. 
Party  silver  and  gules  with  a  bend  countercoloured.     [CHAU- 

SER.1] 

Gold  two  corbies  sable.     CORBETT  OF  MARTON. 

1  In  a  later  hand. 
Ik 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY  ARMS         167 


A  silver  cheveron  with  the  field  gules  above  and  gold  below 

and  a  raven  in  the  foot.     JOHN  MARCHALL. 
Silver  two  bars  gules  and  three  cocks   gules   in   the   chief. 

WYLYAM  BLAUXTON. 
[Party  silver  and  sable  a  fesse  and  three  trefoils  in  the  chief 

all  countercoloured.1]     JOHN  CUNTUN. 
Gules  crusilly  silver  with  two  bars  and  six  leopards'  heads  of 

gold.     KYNGE  HARALDE. 
Sable  three  luces  silver,  two  being  crossed   heads  downward 

behind  the  third.     SIR  WYLYAM  TROUDBEKKE. 
Ermine  three  pairs  of  bellows  of  gules. 
The  f eld  syhyr  a  woyde  crosse  of  s  a  by  II  a  schoychon  of  gold  [with] 

an  egyll  splayed  of  sabyll. 
A  beryth  asewre  a  lyon  passant  of  gold  [with]  a  towre  pynakelyd 

and  enbataylyd  of  the  same  [upon  his  back]. 
[Quartyrly]  syhyr  and  gowlys  iiij  crosse  ferdemolyne  of  the  same 

[that  is,  countercoloured]. 
A  beryth  synobyll  vj  loucys  eyronde  of  syhyr. 
A  beryth  asewre  iij  serpentys  hedys  of  gold  rasyd  the  tongys  of  gold 

crosletwyse. 
A  beryth  a  poynt  syhyr  the  chefe  enty  of  asewre  v  crosse  forme  of 

gold  [in  the  chief]. 

Silver  a  chief  gules  with  a  millrind  cross  voided  and  counter- 
coloured  lying  saltirewise. 
Azure  a  bend  party  gules  and  gold  and  a  border  engrailed 

party  gold  and  gules.     EMONDE  PRYORE. 
Sable  three  silver  lilies  with  stalks  and  leaves  and  a  chief  party 

azure  and  gules  with  a  fleur  de  lys  gold  and  a  leopard 

gold. 
Gules  a  chief  sable  indented  with  three  escallops  silver. 

1  Shield  struck  out. 


1 68  THE   ANCESTOR 

Silver  six  fleurs  de  lys  azure  and  a  chief  gold  indented.  JOHN 
PASTON. 

Gules  a  cheveron  gold  between  three  silver  combs. 

Party  gold  and  gules  with  a  dolphin  upright  countercoloured. 

Azure  three  pairs  of  crossed  keys  of  silver  and  a  chief  gules 
with  three  silver  dolphins  upright.  [THE  FISHMONGERS.1] 

Party  azure  and  gules  with  a  saltire  countercoloured  between 
four  golden  crescents. 

Ermine  an  arched  chief  of  gules  with  a  single  label  pendant  [?] 
of  ermine  hanging  from  the  top. 

Party  palewise  and  cheveronwise  silver  and  azure  counter- 
coloured  with  a  fleur  de  lys  azure  in  the  first  quarter  and 
another  of  silver  [sic]  in  the  fourth. 

Silver  a  pale  gules  indented. 

Party  sable  and  gold  cheveronwise  and  battled  with  three 
lions  countercoloured. 

Azure  an  eagle  silver  within  a  [single]  flowered  tressure  of 
silver.  WAN  PAGE. 

Party  cheveronwise  sable  and  ermine  with  two  leopards'  heads 
silver  in  the  chief. 

Party  gold  and  gules  with  a  fesse  between  three  leopards' 
heads  all  countercoloured. 

Party  cheveronwise  gules  and  gold  with  a  crescent  counter- 
coloured.  [CHAPMAN.1] 

Party  silver  and  sable  with  ermine  tails  countercoloured  and  a 
chief  ermine  with  five  lozenges  gules. 

Sable   a   leopard   rampant   with   one   head   and    two  bodies. 

[COMBERTON.1] 

Gules  a  unicorn  rampant  checkered  silver  and  sable. 

Party  ermine  and  azure  with  a  fesse  countercoloured. 

Gules  three  luces  silver  with  an  orle  of  crosslets  fitchy  silver. 

[LUCEY.1] 

Party  azure  and  silver  bendwise  indented  with  three  pierced 

molets  of  gules  in  the  azure  cantel. 
Silver  two  piles  of  gules  crossed  saltirewise  between  four  fleurs 

de  lys  of  gules. 
Nine  pieces  gold  and  azure  with  four  fleurs  de  lys  of  gold. 

[COTTES.1] 

A  bend  quarterly  gules  and  ermine  in  a  field  party  gules  and 
sable  saltirewise. 

1  In  a  later  hand. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS 


169 


Party  gules  and  azure  with  a  two-headed  eagle  party  silver 
and  gold. 


Gules  a  pale  sable  bezanty  between  six  crescents  ermine.     Les 

armys  PYLCHARDE. 
Party  gold  and  azure  with  a  rampant  leopard  countercoloured. 

[STONNE.1] 

Silver  three  piles  sable  with  three  golden  rams'  heads  cut  off 
at  the  neck  in  the  chief.     [YoNGE.1] 


Gold  flowered  with  azure  and  a  chief  azure  indented. 
Gyronny  gules  and  sable  with  a  cross   gyronny  of  ermine 

and  sable. 
Azure  three  golden  triple  crowns  of  the  pope  each  standing 

upon  a  cloud  of  gules  with  beams  of  gold.     [DRAPERS' 

COMPANY.1] 

1  In  a  later  hand. 


170 


THE   ANCESTOR 


Azure  three  pierced  molets  of  gold  and  a  chief  gules  with 

another  chief  battled  silver.     RYCHARD  NORRYS. 
Silver  a  portcullis  sable. 
Silver  a  dance   sable  with    three   golden   luces   heads   razed 

thereon. 
France  and  England   quarterly  with   an   azure   border  with 

golden  martlets. 

Silver  a  lion  with  a  forked  tail  party  athwart  gules  and  sable. 
Party  sable  and  gold  bendwise  indented  with  a  millrind  cross 

gold  in  the  sable  cantel. 

Azure  with  cloudwaves  of  silver  [five  shown]. 
Silver  three  crapawdys  [toads]  of  sable. 
Nine  pieces  gold  and  azure  with  four  pierced  lozenges  of  gold. 

ROBARDE  PRYKKE. 
Three  figures  of  6  [?]  sable. 
Azure  three  distaffs  (or  fishing  floats)  of  silver. 
Party  sable  and  silver  cheveronwise  with  three  crosslets  fitchy 

countercoloured . 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY    ARMS         171 


Gold  three  [uncertain  charges]  sable. 

Quarterly  silver  and  gules  with  four  roses  [countercoloured  ?]. 

Six  pieces  azure  and  gold  with  three  golden  griddles.     [GiRD- 

LERS'  COMPANY.1] 


Six  pieces  sable  and  silver  with  three  demi-lions  silver. 
Silver  a  cheveron  sable  between  three  trivets  sable. 
Party  silver  and  sable  battled  with  a  golden  Catherine  wheel 
over  all. 


1  In  a  later  hand. 


172 


THE   ANCESTOR 


Six  pieces  azure  and  silver  with  iij  synettys  rowsand  of  \syhyr 
crownyd  [about  their  necks]  and  cbaynyd  of  gold  dysmembryd 
ixf  goulys.  ADAM  Goo  DALE  Serg*  at  Armes,  not  soo.  •  This 
coat  is  given  later  in  an  amended  form. 

Syhyr  iij  roys  ofgowlys  regardande.1     JOHN  OSYN. 

Party  azure  and  gules  bendwise  a  golden  lion  with  a  forked 
tail  looking  backward  and  holding  a  silver  harp. 


Quarterly  sable  and  silver  with  a  lion  countercoloured. 
Silver  a  pale  indented  azure. 

Eight  pieces  sable  and  gules  with  a  saltire  over  all.     JOHN 
HALYS. 


1  The  roes  are  looking  backward.  Note  this  early  example  of  the  heralds' 
floundering  French,  which  has  given  regardant  in  modern  armory  the  meaning 
of  looking  backward.  Here  regardant  is  the  more  accurate  translation  of  look- 
ing backward  into  the  French  of  medieval  blazonry,  and  as  late  as  the  grant  of 
the  Seymour  augmentation  in  1547  the  English  leopards  are  described  in  the 
redundant  blazon  of  the  grant  as  regardant. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS 


A  fesse  between  six  crosslets  formy  fitchy,  the  whole  shield 
party  athwart  and  countercoloured  of  silver  and  sable. 
WYLYAM  COTYNGHAM. 

Silver  a  pale  indented  gules.     HARRY  HALLE. 

Gules  a  cheveron  engrailed  and  three  silver  dolphins  upright. 


Gold  a  ship  with  mast,  sail  and  pennon  of  sable. 

Gold  a  chief  gules  with  three  bulls'  heads  countercoloured. 

WYLYAM  BULLE. 
Ermine  a  saltire  sable  with  five  fleurs  de  lys  of  silver.  WYLYAM 

BYLYNGEDON. 
Azure  three  harts  silver. 
Party  silver  and  sable  nebuly. 
Azure  three  ounces  [or  leopards  after  their  kind]  rampant 

silver. 
Silver   two   bars   gules   with    three    cinqfoils    in    the    chief. 

WYLYAM  DENTTON. 

M 


i/4  THE   ANCESTOR 

Gules  a  cheveron  ermine  between  three  golden  portcullises. 

[CLEMENT  FvscHCOK.1] 
Azure  a  scutcheon  of  silver  with  an  orle  of  crosses  formy  of 

gold.     SIR  PYERSE  de  BERESYE. 
Nine  pieces  ermine  and  silver  with  four  millrinds  or  millstone 

turners  of  sable.     [TuRNER.1] 

Silver  a  chief  sable  and  a  bull's  head  countercoloured. 
Ermine  a  chief  azure  bezanty.     HEMYNEFORDE. 
Gules  a  lion  checkered  ermine  and  sable. 
Ermine  a  cheveron  sable  with  three  chessrooks  sable  in  the 

chief. 
Party  bendwise  sable  and  gules  with  three   crescents    party 

sable  and  silver  lying  in  the  bend. 
Ermine  a  chief  indented   azure  with   three   trefoils   ermine 

thereon. 
Azure  and  gules  party  cheveronwise  with  a  line  of  cloud  or 

nebuly  line  anewyd  w*  aseure  between  three  silver  bulls' 

heads  with  golden  horns. 

JOHN  WYLD  berytb  sabyll  a  cbeveron  ermyne  iij  wylkys  of  syhyr. 
JOHN  HEMYNGBOURGH  berytb  ermyn  a  cbeveron  counterbataylyd 

goulys  iij  torteys  of  the  same  yn  the  cbefe. 
TOMAS  PORTHELYNE  berytb  syhyr  a  cheveron  goulys  iij  popye 

bolles  of  wert  dessendaunte  [that  is  to  say,  poppyheads  with 

their  stalks]. 

Gold  three  bars  azure 3  powdered  with  fleurs  de  lys.3 
Gules  three  hawks'  bells  of  gold,  the  field  sown  with  golden 

trefoils.     OLEPHERNUS. 
Azure  a  saltire  engrailed  gold  with  a  double  tressure  flory 

gules  over  all.     SIR  DEGREWAUNT. 
Gules  three  ermytys  hedys  of  silver  cut  off  at  the  neck,  their 

cowls  thrown  back.     ERMYTE. 
Party  gules  and  gold  cheveronwise  and  battled  with   three 

lions  countercoloured.     WYWOLDE. 
Sable  a  lion  silver  with  three  bastons  of  gules. 
Party  ermine  and  gules  with  a  wave  countercoloured. 
Nine  pieces  silver  and  azure  with  four  golden  lions  in  the 

silver.     STOKLEY. 


1  In  a  later  hand. 

2  Probably  for  burelly. 

3  The  fleurs  de  lys  are  demi  fleurs  de  lys,  each  being  drawn  as  issuing  from 
the  bar  below  it. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS         175 


Sable  a  cheveron  engrailed  silver  between  three  silver  owls. 

[HEWETT  OF  STAFFS.*] 
Gold  three  bends  gules  and  a  chief ....  with  another  chief  of 

silver  charged  with  three  fleurs  de  lys  sable.     NORMAN, 

draper  [of  London  ].1 
Gules  a  cheveron  silver  and  sable  vairy  between  three  pierced 

molets  of  silver.     SIR  JOHN  STOCTON. 


Here  is  a  recipe  for  a  hot  unguent  for  the  Syetyka,  which  is 
followed  by  another  recipe  against  the  same  disease.  This 
second  recipe  demands  an  olde  gose  agandder  [goosey 
gander]  within  whose  body  is  to  be  put  all  the  fleysch  of  a 
catte  well  brokyn,  with  a  swyne  fote  wytb  the  klee  ony  wyrgyn 
wex,  sewety  honey,  salt  and  other  matters,  which  will 
render  the  dripping  of  the  goose  not  only  a  medicine 
against  the  sciatica,  but  a  presyas  oynement  all  so  for  the 
gowfe.  This  noble  recipe  was  written  to  a  king  of  Eng- 
land from  the  unewersyte  of  Selaren  [Salerno]. 


Party  gules  and  silver  bendwise  with  a  lion  countercoloured. 
Party  sable  and  gold  cheveronwise  with  two  golden  roses  in 

the  chief. 
Azure  three  bellows  of  gold  each  with  its  silver  pype  towards 

the  midst  of  the  shield. 


1  In  a  later  hand. 


THE   ANCESTOR 


'The  armys  of  oure  lord  Jesew  cryst  after  the  forme  of  the  passyon. 

The  shield  in  the  hand  is !  azure  with  the  silver  vernicle,  the 
banner  azure  with  a  silver  lamb,  the  cup  and  nimbus  gold. 
On  the  skirt  is  written  This  is  made  from  godes  cote.  The 
helm  mantle  made  of  the  seamless  coat  is  rosset,  the  crest 
gold,  the  wreath  green. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS        177 


The  shields  beside  the  figure  of  Christ  are  these  : — 

Party  sable  and  gules  with  a  man's  leg  of  silver  cut  off  at 
the  thigh. 

Six  pieces  gules  and  silver  with  iij  ostryc\bes\  rowsyng  in 

the  gules.     ADAM  GOODALE,  sergaunt  of  army s. 
Azure  a  sun  of  gold.     KYNGE  OF  ARRABY. 
[Gold  two  snakes  upright  and  wreathed  together.1]     ROY  DE 

BERBERYE. 

Azure  three  capital  S's  of  gold.     ROY  DE  JESSE. 
Barry  gold  and  sable  of  eight  pieces  with  the  green  *  kranz- 

lein'  bend.     DEWKE  DE  SAXSON. 
Azure  a  cross  gold  between  twelve  golden  fleurs  de  lys  with 

the  crucified  figure  of  Christ,  gules  upon  the  cross.    THE 

BYSCHOPPE  RYGE. 

Gold  four  lions  sable.     DEWKE  DE  HOLLONDE. 
Lozengy  silver  and  azure  bendwise.     DEWKE  DE  BAVARIE. 
[Azure  flowered  with  gold  with  a  bend  gules.     DEWKE  DE 

BURBUN.2] 

Gules  a  fesse  silver.     DEWKE  DE  OSTRYCHE  [AUSTRIA]. 


1  This  shield  is  struck  out,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  page  another  is  drawn  as 
the  tretuer — gold  two  beasts  with  dragon  heads  and  lions'  fore  feet,  back  to 
back,  with  neck  and  tails  writhed  together. 

8  Struck  out. 


i78 


THE   ANCESTOR 


The  army s  of  oure  lorde  drawe  owte  of  the  passyon. 

A  shield  with  these  arms  is  beside  the  figure  : — 

Sable  with  two  silver  flaunches  and  a  silver  sword  point 
downward  anowryd  [adorned]  w*  gold  pomell  and 
byltte. 


FIFTEENTH    CENTURY   ARMS 


179 


Azure  three  bulls'  heads  silver,  the  tongues  gules.     The  armys 

of  ISRAHELL. 

Gold  with  roundels  of  gules  and  three  serpents  gliding  sable. 
ROY  DE  EGIPCIE. 

Azure  three  spears  of  gold  bendwise  each  with  pointed  pen- 
nons of  gules.  ROY  DE  CALDEORUN. 

Gold  four  voided  bars  gules  battled  on  both  sides.  ROY  DE 
MASSYDONIE. 

Gules  a  luce's  or  whale's  head  silver  coming  from  the  sinister 
side  and  crowned  gold.  ROY  DE  AFFERYK.E. 

Gold  three  green  popinjays,  one  under  the  other  with  their 
wings  rising.  REX  DE  INDIA. 

Azure  a  golden  cloth  hung  over  a  golden  rail  which  is  cut  off 
at  both  ends.  IMPERATOR  DE  SALDACH. 

Barry  of  eight  pieces  gold  and  gules  battled  and  counter- 
battled.  This  is  evidently  meant  for  a  like  shield  to  that 
of  the  King  of  Macedonia,  four  shields  before  this,  for  on 
one  of  the  golden  bars  is  written  the  f eld  sene  tborowe  and 
the  f eld  is  said  to  be  gules. 

Azure  three  running  griffons  of  silver  annyd  w*  old.  REX  DE 
PERSYA. 


Sable  a  T-cross  of  syhyr  anewyd  w*  aseure.     SEYNT  ANTONY 

armys. 

Gules  two  crossed  keys  of  silver.     SEYNT  PETER  POPE. 
Gules  a  silver  column — dominipapa  [sic]  de  COLUMPNE  [Colonna] 

Rome. 


i8o 


THE   ANCESTOR 


I  I        L          I  711.  .Illlll 

_    _          //     //I     (I  Kl  l\ 

Lrn     u .     'jAii*   n 

^/^5>v^> 

Azure  a  golden  cross  potent  fitchy.    SCANCTUS  JEREOMIIS  [sic]. 
Green  with  a  silver  eagle.     SANCTUS  MAURICIUS. 
Azure  a  silver  cross  potent  fitchy  between  four  golden  A's. 
SANCTUS  ALBYNUS  Anglya. 


Azure  a  charbocle  of  gold.     SANCTUS  MARTIN  Episcopus. 
Sable  three  crosslets  fitchy  of  gold  and  a  border  gules  with 

broad  arrow  heads  silver.     SANCTUS  SEBASTIANUS. 
Azure  a  chief  gold   with   a   lion   gules   over   all.     SANCTUS 

REYNOLDUS  myks. 

The  remainder  of  the  MS.  is  taken  up  with  a  roll  of 
fifty-four  picture  shields  of  European  potentates  and  nobles, 
most  of  them  German. 


[In  the  next  volume  of  the  Ancestor  will  appear  a  key  and  index  of  all  names 
contained  in  this  book  of  arms.  A  list  of  errata  will  be  added,  which  is  speci- 
ally needful  as  the  earlier  portion  of  the  book  was  printed  off  before  proof 
correction.] 


OUR    OLDEST   FAMILIES 
XL   THE   OGLES 


THE  very  ancient  Northumbrian  house  of 
Ogle  begins,  in  the  account  of  them  written 
by  Roger  Dodsworth  of  York  in  1641,  with  c  a 
certain  Humphrey,  a  very  distinguished  man 
who  lived  and  flourished  about  the  time  of 
William  the  Conqueror/  By  the  time  his 
labours  came  to  be  set  forth  in  pedigree  form 
Master  Dodsworth's  researches  found  that 
Humphrey's  life  could  not  fairly  be  extended  to  the  Con- 
queror's time.  But  Master  Dodsworth  was  '  the  most  humble 
and  faithful  servant '  of  '  the  most  illustrious  hero  Lord 
William  Cavendish  .  .  .  Earl  of  Newcastle,  and  in  the  right 
of  the  most  excellent  heroine  Lady  Catherine  his  mother, 
Baron  Ogle,  Bertram  of  Bothale  and  Hephale,'  and  decency 
demanded  that  the  pedigree  of  so  great  a  lord  should  be  carried 
to  the  famous  date  of  1066.  Therefore  a  father  must  be 
found  for  the  distinguished  Humphrey,  and  the  pedigree 
begins  with  one  *  De  Ogle,  tempore  Willelmi  Conquestoris,' 
a  pictured  ancestor  who,  with  the  shield  of  Ogle  upon  his 
right  arm,  points  his  left  hand  to  the  line  of  descendants  below 
him.  No  criticism  can  attack  this  father  of  the  race,  although 
his  surname  may  be  held  unproven,  for  Humphrey  must 
have  sprung  from  human  loins,  although  his  father  need  not 
have  been  written  '  of  Ogle.' 

Sir  Henry  Ogle,  the  author  of  the  great  chronicle  of  the 
family  printed  in  1902,  is  perhaps  prepared  to  follow  too  far 
Dodsworth's  method  of  extending  the  family  pedigree  by 
simple  logic,  for  at  the  head  of  his  prefatory  sketch  we 
read  that  '  it  is  evident  that  prior  to  the  date  on  which  docu- 
mentary evidence  exists,  from  which  the  descent  of  the  family 
is  deduced,  some  ancestor  must  have  existed  between  the 
eighth  and  ninth  centuries.'  This  cannot  be  denied,  but  the 
value  of  the  statement  is  discounted  when  we  remember  that 
the  humblest  family  may  make  the  like  truthful  boast,  and 
that  after  all  *  we  are  a'  Jock  Thomson's  bairns.' 


181 


1 82  THE   ANCESTOR 

Concerning  the  surname  of  Ogle  little  need  be  said.  Sir 
Henry  Ogle's  disquisition  concerning  '  the  race  or  personal 
name  of  Oghhul  in  the  fifth  century  '  is  not  to  the  point.  For 
the  Ogle  family  the  facts  should  be  simple  enough,  it  being 
evident  that  they  draw  their  name  from  their  manor  of  Ogle, 
a  place  name  which  is  probably  one  of  the  many  northern 
place  names  which  are  compounds  of  gill,  which  signifies  a 
ravine  or  chasm. 

The  story  of  the  race  of  Ogle  may  be  allowed  to  begin 
after  all  with  Humphrey  of  Ogle,  who  although  no  com- 
panion or  adversary  of  the  Conqueror  is  found  living  with  his 
foot  on  Northumbrian  ground,  and  that  ground  the  lands  of 
Ogle.  In  an  undated  charter,  which  is  probably  of  the  first 
half  or  middle  of  the  twelfth  century,  Walter  Fitz  William 
grants  to  Humphrey  of  '  Hoggel '  the  right  to  make  his  mill, 
and  to  have  the  multure  or  mill-rights  of  his  own  land.  This 
deed  was  seen  and  copied  by  Dodsworth  at  Welbeck  Abbey, 
and  Dodsworth's  good  faith  and  the  existence  of  the  deed 
is  attested  by  the  fact  that  multuram  is  misread  by  him  as 
culturum,  and  translated  as  the  right  of  *  cultivation.'  To 
another  deed  of  the  same  Walter,  made  about  the  same  date, 
Humphrey  of  Ogle  is  a  witness  with  Gilbert  his  son. 

In  1 1 66,  one  hundred  years  after  the  Conquest,  Walter  fitz 
William,  the  king's  baron  of  Northumberland,  returns  Gil- 
bert of  '  Hoggal '  as  one  of  his  knights  enfeoffed  in  the  new 
feoffment  (since  1135),  and  at  this  time  Humphrey  the  father  is 
presumably  dead.  Gilbert  occurs  in  the  pipe  rolls  in  1 169  and 
1170,  and  the  same  rolls  give  us  in  1181  Robert  of  Oggil,  who 
is  said  to  have  been  his  son.  Legend  credits  this  Robert  with 
the  taking  of  the  baron  of  Rutherford  in  the  wars  with  the 
Scots.  Soon  after  this  date  several  Ogles  are  found  who  are 
reckoned  in  the  Ogle  pedigrees  as  brothers  of  Robert.  Of 
these  Gilbert  was  fined  half  a  mark  for  bringing  a  writ  against 
his  lord  in  33  Hen.  II.  (1186-7),  anc^  *s  a  witness  to  a  deed 
c.  1209-16.  His  widow  Agnes  has  a  suit  against  Roger  Ogle 
in  1221. 

From  a  tangle  of  Ogles  we  draw  Thomas  of  Ogle,  who  is 
found  in  the  pipe  rolls  in  1219, 1220  and  1221.  He  is  the  chief 
of  his  house,  and  is  returned  in  20  Hen.  III.  as  holding  Ogle  and 
half  of  Burradon.  At  present  we  can  but  guess  at  his  parent- 
age. Sir  Henry  Ogle  is  ready  to  make  him  son  of  one  Richard 
Ogle,  but  this  pedigree  falls  to  pieces  in  handling.  His  reason- 


OUR    OLDEST   FAMILIES  183 

ing  seems  to  be  as  follows.  Thomas  of  Ogle  is  witness  to  an 
undated  charter  with  his  younger  brother  Roger.  In  40 
Hen.  III.  Roger  fitz  Richard,  as  son  of  Richard  of  Ogle  who 
died  three  years  before,  is  plaintiff  in  an  assize  roll  in  a  suit 
against  William  of  Madle  concerning  a  lease  of  lands  in  Rip- 
lington.  Therefore  Thomas  is  also  son  of  Richard,  being 
brother  to  Roger. 

But  in  Roger  the  son  of  Richard  we  have  evidently  a  second 
Roger,  for  being  heir  to  his  father  in  40  Hen.  III.,  he  cannot 
be  younger  brother  to  Thomas,  who  left  sons  to  succeed  him. 
Thomas  would  seem  to  be  heir  to  Gilbert,  and  may  have  been 
his  son  by  Agnes,  or  more  probably  by  an  earlier  wife.  At 
the  same  time  Agnes  is  pursuing  Roger  concerning  lands  in 
Burradon.  Roger  has  given  half  a  mark  for  a  precipe  against 
Thomas  concerning  lands  also  in  Burradon,  which  he  holds 
of  Thomas  by  his  deed.  It  may  be  then  that  Agnes,  who  has 
her  dower  in  the  Burradon  lands  held  by  Thomas  the  elder 
brother,  is  suing  for  her  dower  in  the  portion  in  which  Thomas 
has  given  his  younger  brother  a  maintenance,  for  Thomas, 
we  remind  ourselves,  is  returned  lord  of  half  Burradon  in 
20  Hen.  III. 

Sir  John  of  Ogle,  son  of  Thomas,  comes  to  establish  the 
pedigree  henceforward  with  deeds  such  as  that  by  which  (in 
1295-6)  he  gives  to  his  son  Robert  a  ploughland  in  Ogle, 
describing  himself  as  John,  son  of  Thomas  of  Ogle.  This  Sir 
John  is  famous  in  border  story,  and  a  tale,  fragrant  with  the 
true  romance  of  the  fourteenth  century,  tells  how  he  enter- 
tained at  Ogle  castle  Sir  David  Dunbar,  a  Scots  champion 
who  was  wandering  with  a  provocative  fox-tail  in  his  cap,  and 
in  an  after-dinner  argument  slew  his  guest  with  a  pole-axe  as 
he  sat  at  table.  His  seal  in  1316  bears  the  fesse  between  three 
crescents,  which  are  the  arms  of  Ogle,  a  shield  which  his 
younger  son  John  differences  by  taking  away  the  fesse  and 
powdering  the  field  with  crosslets. 

Sir  Robert,  son  of  the  hospitable  John,  was  a  stout  warrior 
on  the  border,  and  in  the  Scots  wars  the  name  of  Ogle  rose. 
He  had  freewarren  in  his  lands  of  Ogle  and  elsewhere  in  1341, 
and  for  his  good  service  in  war  a  licence  was  given  him  to 
crenellate  his  house.  In  1346  he  was  one  of  the  leaders  of 
those  English  who  fought  at  Nevills  Cross  and  carried  King 
David  prisoner  to  the  Tower.  Ogle  himself  took  the  brother 
of  the  Earl  Douglas  and  other  noble  Scotsmen,  and  although 


1 84  THE   ANCESTOR 

there  can  have  been  no  such  picking  upon  the  Scotsmen  as  fell 
to  those  who  took  the  glittering  prisoners  of  Cressy,  the  house 
of  Ogle  was  doubtless  the  better  for  certain  ransoms. 

Seven  generations  of  Robert  Ogles  follow  in  direct  line  as 
heirs  of  Ogle.  One  was  prisoner  after  the  renowned  fight  of 
Otterburn.  This  Robert's  mother  was  heir  of  the  Bertrams, 
barons  of  Bothal,  and  Robert's  youngest  son  John  was  given 
the  Bertram  name  and  arms  and  the  Bertram  castle  of  Bothal. 
The  elder  brother,  an  earnest  advocate  of  primogeniture, 
hurried  to  Bothal  as  soon  as  the  breath  was  out  of  his  father, 
and  coming  to  John's  door  at  midnight,  with  two  hundred 
men  behind  him,  sieged  him  by  the  book  with  ladders  and 
pavises  and  other  apparatus  of  war.  On  the  fourth  day  Bothal 
was  carried  by  storm  in  despite  of  the  entreaties  of  the  justices 
of  the  king's  peace.  But  the  king's  writ  ran  even  in  far  North- 
umberland, and  Robert  Ogle,  after  a  few  months  of  possession, 
drew  off  his  men  towards  Ogle.  Of  such  unruly  men  it  may 
at  least  be  said  that  they  ranged  the  border  like  mastiffs,  and 
this  Sir  Robert  distinguished  himself  by  retaking  the  town 
of  Wark  from  the  Scots. 

The  first  peer  of  parliament  of  the  Ogle  name  was  a 
Robert  who  in  1461  was  summoned  as  a  baron  by  Edward  IV. 
Therefore  it  will  be  seen  that  he  was  a  partisan  of  the  white 
rose.  He  came  safely  through  the  wars  and  died  in  his  bed 
in  1469.  His  son,  the  second  lord,  who  bore  the  curious  name 
of  Ewyn,  was  at  the  battle  of  Stoke,  and  it  is  suggested  that 
he  died  of  his  wounds  taken  therein.  He  married  a  daughter 
of  Hilton  of  Hilton,  concerning  whom  Sir  Henry  Ogle  has  the 
truly  magnificent  tale  that  the  race  sprang  '  from  a  Saxon 
maiden  confined  in  a  tower  on  the  banks  of  the  Wear  to  pro- 
tect her  from  a  Danish  chieftain,  who  however  eventually 
married  her.'  The  end  of  the  legend  seems  weak,  and  we  hope 
that  Sir  Henry  is  not  bowdlerizing  for  us  an  attractive  family 
scandal. 

The  fourth  Lord  Ogle  was  at  Flodden  with  his  men  arrayed 
under  his  red  crescent,  to  which  field  as  the  ballad  hath  it 

Sir  William  Percy  and  Lord  Ogle  both  came, 
And  Sir  William  Gascoigne  theyr  cosyn  was  he. 

For  his  doings  on  that  day  the  Scots  had  revenge  in  the  next 
generation,  when  the  fifth  lord  was  killed  in  fight  on  Peniel 
heugh.  The  barony  was  carried  away  by  Katherine,  the 


OUR    OLDEST    FAMILIES  185 

surviving  daughter  of  Cuthbert,  the  seventh  lord.  She  was 
wife  of  Sir  Charles  Cavendish,  and  for  her  son  William,  baron 
of  Ogle,  first  earl  of  Ogle,  Duke  of  Newcastle,  and  a  knight 
of  the  Garter,  did  Ralph  Dodsworth  make  the  great  pedi- 
gree of  Ogle  in  1646.  Two  generations  later  the  old  barony 
of  Ogle  was  lost  amongst  coheirs  of  the  second  duke,  who 
died  in  1691.  Lord  Howard  de  Walden  is  now  the  senior 
coheir. 

From  Ralph  the  third  lord,  who  died  in  1513,  descended 
many  cadet  lines  of  Ogle,  his  fourth  son,  John  Ogle  of  Kirkley, 
founding  the  family  now  represented  by  Newton  Charles  Ogle, 
of  Kirkley  and  Ogle,  whose  grandfather  bought  from  the 
Portland  family  the  lands  of  the  ancient  barony  of  Ogle,  which 
are  thus  in  the  hands  of  the  heir  male  of  the  old  house.  A 
wall  of  the  old  castle  still  hangs  over  the  farmhouse  upon  its 
site. 

Chaloner  Ogle,  born  in  1729,  as  a  fourth  son  of  the  Kirkley 
house,  entered  the  navy  in  1742,  and  died  senior  admiral  in 
1816.  He  was  an  active  officer,  and  although  his  ill  luck  kept 
him  out  of  the  fight  of  Ushant  and  gave  him  an  ill  place  in 
Sir  George  Rodney's  action  at  Gibraltar,  he  was  a  hawk  to  the 
French  privateers,  and  had  a  long  list  of  sea  duels  to  his  name. 
In  March  of  1816  the  Prince  Regent  gave  the  old  officer  a 
patent  of  a  baronetcy,  and  in  August  of  the  same  year  he  died 
at  his  seat  of  Worthy  in  Hampshire. 

Of  his  sons  two  died  at  sea  as  midshipmen.  The  third  son, 
Sir  Charles  Ogle,  was  on  the  books  of  the  Resolution  four  days 
after  his  baptism  !  and  lived  to  serve  under  Jervis,  Parker  and 
Nelson ;  but  his  father's  luck  followed  him,  and  his  frigate, 
the  Unite,  was  detached  to  a  station  off  Cape  St.  Vincent 
before  Lord  Nelson's  fleet  came  to  Trafalgar  Bay.  He  lived 
till  1858.  Sir  Charles's  brother  Thomas,  a  major  of  the 
Royal  Fusiliers,  was  killed  on  the  beach  of  Aboukir  Bay,  when 
landing  under  the  guns  of  the  fleet  in  which  was  his  brother's 
frigate,  the  Greyhound.  Alone  amongst  the  old  admiral  sons 
James  Ogle,  the  youngest,  stayed  at  home,  and  died  rector 
of  Bishops  Waltham.  His  son  Edmund  succeeded  to  the 
baronetcy  as  sixth  baronet  in  1885,  and  died  a  general  in  the 
army  in  1887. 

The  general's  second  son,  Sir  Henry  Asgill  Ogle,  seventh 
baronet,  retired  from  the  navy  as  a  captain  in  1897.  He  was 
in  command  of  the  naval  brigade  at  the  end  of  that  disastrous 


1 86  THE   ANCESTOR 

day  of  Majuba,  and  has  been  a  deputy  commissioner  of  the 
Western  Pacific.  More  than  this,  he  has  occupied  himself 
in  his  retirement  with  the  making  of  a  great  chronicle  of 
the  name  and  house  of  Ogle,  which  he  printed  privately  in 
1902. 

O.  B. 


T 


THE   WESTBURY    CUP 

AN   ANCIENT  SCANDAL 

HE   churchwardens'  accounts  of  the   ancient  town  of 
Westbury  in   Wiltshire    record    that  on  6  November, 

5— 

At  this  meeting  the  Rev.  Stafford  Brown  mentioned  his  intention,  with  the 
concurrence  of  the  churchwardens  of  Westbury,  and  the  chapelwardens  of 
Dilton,  of  applying  the  old  communion  plate  belonging  to  Westbury  towards 
the  purchase  of  new  plate  for  the  use  of  the  chapel  at  Dilton. 

This  resolution  was  accordingly  carried  out,  and  new  lamps 
duly  replaced  the  old  ones.  This  was  at  the  beginning  of  the 
church  *  restoration  '  mania,  when  scores  of  sixteenth  and 
seventeenth  century  chalices  and  patens  found  their  way  to 
the  silversmiths  and  curiosity  shops. 

Whether  the  parson  of  Westbury  had  any  especial  spite  or 
dislike  to  this  particular  vessel  does  not  appear,  or  indeed 
whether  he  knew  anything  about  its  history,  other  than  was 
notified  on  the  piece  itself,  the  probability  however  is  that  he 
did,  for  there  was  a  brief  note  about  this  cup  in  the  county 
history,  which  would  hardly  have  been  unknown  to  him.  In 
any  case,  whether  it  went  into  the  melting  pot  or  the  curiosity 
shop  was  all  one  to  the  Reverend  Stafford  Brown. 

Fortunately  the  cup  had  the  latter  destination,  and  after 
some  twenty  years'  oblivion  it  reappeared  in  the  hands  of  a 
Brighton  silversmith,  from  whom  it  passed  to  a  London  art 
dealer,  and  from  the  latter  to  the  present  owner. 

The  apparent  *  uniqueness  '  of  this  cup  and  its  oddity  as  a 
piece  of  church  plate,  together  with  the  circumstantial  tenor 
of  an  inscription  upon  it  were  obviously  such  as  to  excite 
curiosity  and  suggest  research,  and  the  writer  consequently 
forthwith  set  about  making  the  necessary  inquiries. 

First,  however,  as  to  the  thing  itself,  as  it  is  a  standing  cup 
with  a  loose  detachable  cover,  it  was  to  be  presumed  that  it 
was  given  to  the  church  to  serve  as  a  communion  cup,  with 
its  paten,  but  the  most  cursory  examination  showed  that  it 
could  not  have  been  originally  made  for  such  a  use. 


187 


1 88  THE   ANCESTOR 

The  cup  is  a  solidly  made  piece  of  silver  plate,  richly  gilt 
both  inside  and  out,  in  the  form  of  an  acorn,  supported  on  a 
low  moulded  stem,  with  a  central  knop,  and  round  the  upper 
part  of  the  cup  is  conspicuously  engraved  in  cursive  characters 
with  sundry  flourishes — 

Given  to  the  Church  of  Westbury  by  Collonel  Wancklen  and  Mary  Contes 
of  Malbrou  1671. 

and  on  the  cover  are  the  initials  of  the  donors  in  large  capital 
letters,  T.  W.  &  M.  M. 

Another  singularity  is  the  fact  that  the  real  date  of  the 
piece  is  not  1671  but  1585,  as  shown  by  the  hall  date  and 
maker's  marks  conspicuously  placed  on  it. 

The  cup  therefore  in  its  origin  was  evidently  a  piece  of 
English  Elizabethan  table  or  sideboard  plate,  though  at  the 
first  blush  the  writer  had  rushed  to  the  conclusion  that  this 
unusual  piece  presented  to  a  church  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II. 
by  a  cavalier  colonel,  must  have  been  specially  made,  in  its 
particular  shape  in  allusion  to  the  oak-tree  adventure  of  the 
king  at  Boscobel,  and  indeed  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  well- 
known  occurrence  may  have  in  some  measure  prompted  the 
gift. 

The  conclusion  in  any  case  was  that  for  special  reasons, 
whatever  they  were,  this  piece,  probably  of  the  old  Marl- 
borough  family  plate,  was  selected  by  the  donors  for  presen- 
tation, and  the  transmission  of  their  names  to  posterity.  Of 
this,  however,  more  anon.  Such  moreover  was  the  opinion 
of  the  supreme  authority  on  old  English  plate,  the  late  Mr. 
Wilfrid  Cripps,  who  moreover,  in  the  plenitude  of  his  know- 
ledge, informed  the  writer  that  he  knew  of  another  sixteenth 
or  early  seventeenth  century  acorn-shaped  standing  cup,  pre- 
served in  a  church  in  Leicestershire,  almost  identical  in  design 
as  to  the  upper  part,  but  different  in  the  make  of  the  stem, 
which  was  in  the  shape  of  an  oak  tree  stem  or  branch.  Clearly 
then  this  cup,  originally  one  of  the  Wancklen-Marlboro  pre- 
ciosities, was  selected  by  the  colonel  and  the  countess  for 
presentation  to  Westbury  church  with  the  inscription  newly 
engraved  thereon,  the  work  being  regilt  and  reburnished  at 
the  same  time. 

But  why  did  these  people  give  it  ?  What  specially  moved 
them  to  do  so  in  1671  ?  How  indeed  could  they  have  done 
so,  seeing  that  the  lady  died  in  the  previous  year,  1670  ? 


THE  WESTBURY  CUP. 

Hall  Mark  of  1585. 


THE   WESTBURY  CUP  189 

These  are  mysteries  to  be  solved.  Doubtless  thereby  hangs 
a  tale,  probably  a  tangled  skein,  which  may  now  never  be  fully 
unravelled. 

The  first  thing  the  writer  did  by  way  of  inquiry  was  to 
consult  the  county  history,  and  he  found  that  Hoare's  Wiltshire 
was  the  book  to  be  looked  up,  and  under  the  heading  of  the 
Hundred  of  Westbury,  he  found  the  following  note  : — 

James  Ley,  the  third  and  last  Earl  of  Marlborough,  who  died  in  1665  was 
possessed  of  many  manors  in  Westbury.  By  his  will  he  appointed  Thomas 
Wancklen,  Esq.,  commonly  called  Colonel  Wancklen,  a  trustee,  and  it  was  sup- 
posed that  the  same  person  married  the  widow  of  James  Ley,  Earl  of  Marl- 
borough,  for  I  find  engraved  on  a  silver  chalice  in  the  communion  plate  of 
Westbury — 

'  The  gift  of  Colonel  Wancklen  and  Mary  Countes  of  Marlboro',  1671.' 

There  is  however  an  important  error  in  this  statement, 
inasmuch  as  the  lady  in  question  was  not  the  wife  of  the  third 
earl,  but  his  mother,  she  being  the  widow  of  Henry  Ley, 
second  Earl  of  Marlborough. 

The  next  reference  was  to  Cokayne's  Complete  Peerage 
extinct  and  dormant,  and  in  vol.  v.  p.  25  occurs  the  following 
explicit  information. — 

Henry  Ley  Earl  of  Marlborough,  b.  before  1595,  M.P.  for  Westbury  1614, 
for  royal  Cheshire  24  Aug.  1617.  Sum.  to  Parl.  v.  p.  in  his  father's  barony  as 
Lord  Ley,  taking  his  seat  2  March  1625-6,  a  month  after  his  father's  elevation 
to  an  Earldom,  to  which  Earldom  3  years  later  he  sue.  (14  March  1628-9).  He 
married  5  Nov.  1615,  at  Hadham  Parva,  Herts  (m.  London,  he  about  20,  she 
about  1 8)  Mary  first  da.  of  Sir  Arthur  Capel,  of  Hadham,  aftd-  by  Margaret  dau. 
of  John  Lord  Grey.  He  died  i  April,  1638.  Will  pr.  1638. 

His  widow  (who  was  baptd-  20  March  1596  at  Hadham  Parva,  m.1  Thomas 
Wancklen  (son  of  a  smith)  and  d.  2  June  1670,  being  buried  in  a  garden  privately, 
but  subsequently  removed  to  Westbury,  Wilts. 

The  next  step  was  obviously  to  look  up  the  Oxford  scandal- 
monger's account  of  the  matter,  and  in  his  well-known  Life 
and  Times  (Oxford,  1872,  vol.  2,  p.  194)  occurs  the  following 
information  : — 

1670  2  June  the  Countess  of  Marlborough,  mother  to  the  Earl  that  was 
killed  in  the  sea  fight,  1666,  died.  Buried  by  her  second  husband  (Thomas 
Wanklyn,  son  of  a  smith)  in  her  garden,  between  2  boards  under  a  turnip  plot, 
because  Mr.  Ash,  who  was  to  enter  upon  her  joynter,  should  not  know  it.  About 
Michaelmas  following  she  was  taken  up  and  buried  by  her  husband  at  Westbury 
in  the  plaine  Wiltshire. 

1  See  Anthony  A.  Wood's  life  for  an  account  of  this  marriage. 

N 


1 9o  THE  ANCESTOR 

Obviously  money  was  at  the  bottom  of  this  business,  and 
our  old  friend  Antony  might  just  as  well  have  given  us  some 
clue  to  the  exact  workings  of  the  filthy  lucre  in  this  case.  As 
it  is,  two  questions  seem  to  arise.  Firstly,  was  the  cup,  osten- 
tatiously described  as  the  joint  gift  of  the  husband  and  wife, 
although  the  latter  was  dead  and  buried  in  the  turnip  patch 
at  the  time,  given  to  the  church  as  a  blind  to  make  it  supposed 
that  the  lady  was  still  alive  ?  or  was  it  presented  as  a  peniten- 
tial offering  after  the  deportation  of  the  defunct  lady's  body 
to  consecrated  ground  ?  The  former  supposition  seems  the 
more  probable,  but  it  is  a  problem  which  will  perhaps  now 
never  be  solved. 

J.  C.  ROBINSON. 


A  COPY 
OF  AN  ORIGINAL  MANUSCRIPT  OF 

SIR  FRANCIS  BARNHAM 
FORMERLY  OF  BOUGHTON  MONCHENSEA 

KNIGHT 

Now  in  the  Possession  of  his  Descendant 
SIR  THOMAS  RIDER,  KNIGHT1 

/^lONSIDERINGE  with  my  selfe,  how  much  honor  is 
V^justly  due  to  the  memorye  of  my  good  father,  and  how 
much  profitt  may  arise  from  this  fayre  example  of  his  life,  I 
have  thought  fitt  to  gather  together  such  peeces  thereof,  as 
were  within  myne  owne  knowledge,  or  delivered  mee  by  cre- 
dible reporte,  that  his  posterity,  knowinge  somewhate  of  his 
vertue  and  fortune,  may  peradventure  make  use  of  both,  to 
theire  owne  good. 

SIR  MARTIN  BARNEHAM  was  the  eldest  sonne  of  FRANCIS 
BARNHAM  a  good  merchaunte  and  an  alderman  of  London,  whoe 
was  the  eldest  sonne  of  Steven  Barnham,  Esq.,  groome  of  the 
Privie  Chamber  to  Kinge  Henry  the  Eighth,  whose  father  and 
grandfather,  being  men  of  fayre  estates,  were  killed  at  Bos- 
worth  field  on  the  side  of  Richard  the  Third,  and  theire  es- 
tates, or  the  greatest  parte  thereof,  becominge  a  prey  to  the 
contrary  faction  ; 

STEVEN  BARNHAM,  my  great  grandfather,  being  left  bare 
of  friends  and  fortune,  was  put  into  the  tuition  and  education 
of  Battell  Abbeye  in  Sussex,  to  which  house  his  auncestors 
had  beene  greate  benefactors,  and  from  thence  prferred  to 
Cardinall  Wolsey,  and  from  him  to  Kinge  Henry  the  Eighth, 
whoe  gave  him  fayre  lands,  and  other  gifts  of  good  value  ; 
But  his  first  wife  (whoe  was  of  the  family  of  the  Blowotts  in 

i  Sir  Thomas  Rider  of  Boughton  Monchelsea,  knight,  was  Sheriff  of  Kent 
in  1754.  His  father,  Sir  Barnham  Rider,  who  died  in  1728,  was  son  and  heir  of 
Philadelphia,  the  daughter  and  heir  of  the  last  of  the  Barnham  baronets  of 
Boughton  Monchelsea,  a  baronetcy  created  15  August  1663. 

191 


192  THE   ANCESTOR 

Hamshire  and  mother  to  Francis,  and  Thomas,  and  one 
daughter)  being  dead,  his  second  wife,  whome  he  maried  in 
his  later  age  meerely  for  love  (which  humor  had  beene  all  his 
life  prdominant  in  him),  beinge  without  children,  did  so 
governe  him,  and  misgoverne  his  estate,  as  made  him  att  his 
death  little  more  than  even  w*1  the  world,  so  that  Francis, 
his  eldest  sonne,  had  but  a  small  portion  from  him  where 
withall  to  rayse  a  fortune,  and  Thomas,  his  brother,  lesse 
than  hee.1 

OUR  NAME  as  we  have  it  by  tradition,  strengthened  with 
probable  circumstances,  and  some  good  records  (which,  I  have 
heard  some  of  my  friends  say  they  have  scene)  was  first  gen- 
tilized,  or  at  least  advanced,  by  SIR  WALTER  BARN  HAM,  a  Baron 
of  the  Exchequer  in  the  time  of  RICHARD  the  SECOND,  and  soe 
continued  in  a  flowrishinge  estate  (at  a  place  called  Barnham 
in  Suffolke  not  far  from  Thetford,  where  divers  descents  of 
them  lye  now  buried)  till  the  time  of  Henry  the  Seventh,  all 
which  I  have  received  from  my  grandmother,  father,  and 
uncles,  whoe  spake  it  with  much  confidence,  as  being  delivered 
to  them,  by  theire  freinds  of  the  former  age,  and  the  truth  of 
it  assured  by  divers  records,  however  it  is  not  that  which  I 
will  binde  on  as  an  infallible  truth,  because  I  my  self  have  not 
scene  that  which  may  soe  absolutly  assure  it,  and  because  I 
for  myne  owne  parte  care  not  to  fetch  a  pedegree  farther 
then  from  the  certaine  memory  of  a  grandfather  that  was  rich 

1  The  will  of  this  Stephen  Barnham  hardly  carries  out  his  descendant's 
description  of  him.  He  is  there  seen,  not  as  an  impoverished  courtier,  but  as 
a  Hampshire  yeoman  and  prosperous  innkeeper.  Describing  himself  as '  Stephen 
Barnam  of  Southwyke,  in  the  countie  of  Southampton,  yeoman,'  he  gives  his 
wife  Joan  his  dwelling  house  called  the  *  Crowne,'  with  certain  copyholds  and  5/. 
yearly  for  life.  He  gives  her  six  kine  and  six  hogs  and  two  horses  of  the  best, 
six  featherbeds  with  bedsteads  and  testers,  the  hangings  of  '  Winchester  cham- 
ber,' *  the  parlour  '  and  '  the  best  chamber,'  one  of  his  best  goblets,  the  nut  with 
the  cover  of  silver  gilt  and  six  silver  spoons,  six  wine  quart  pots,  six  wine  pints, 
six'  beer  quarts  and  six  beer  pints  '  with  all  other  smale  measirs  pottes  for  wyne 
and  bere.'  He  gave  his  daughters  Dorothy,  Agnes  and  Elizabeth  io/.  each. 
He  gave  to  his  bastard  daughter  Mary  13^.  6s.  8d.,  and  to  his  bastard  daughter 
Dorothy  iol.,  to  be  paid  at  their  ages  of  discretion.  He  also  names  Maude,  his 
wife's  cousin,  Dorothy  Cowper,  and  Annys  Frybyn,  Richard  Bycklye,  John 
Hensly  and  Michael  Clerk.  He  made  Henry  Byckly  his  overseer,  and  gave  the 
residue  of  his  goods  to  his  sons  Francis  and  Thomas  Barnam,  his  executors. 
This  will,  dated  28  Oct.  1550,  was  proved  9  Jan.  155^  [P.C.C.  I  Bucke\  by  the 
executors.  Sir  Francis  Barnham's  caution  in  accepting  the  descent  of  his  family 
from  the  baron  of  the  Exchequer  was  probably  a  reasonable  one.  [O.B.] 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  193 

and  honest,  and  a  father  that  was  vertuous  and  wise  ;  so  then 
to  come  neerer  home,  to  indubitable  truthes,  FRANCIS  BARN- 
HAM,  my  grandfather,  when  hee  grew  towards  man's  age,  his 
fathers  estate  beinge  then  in  some  reasonable  condicion,  was  by 
him  put  into  the  course  of  the  courte  in  the  way  of  the  green 
cloath,  but,  findinge  his  fathers  estate  to  runne  apace  to 
ruine,  and  the  houshold  service  to  be  a  slow  way  of  prferment, 
within  lesse  than  two  yeeres  hee  declined  that,  and  bound 
himselfe  apprentice  to  a  good  merchaunte  in  London,  with 
whome  he  served  out  his  yeeres,  and  soe  inabled  him  selfe,  in 
the  understandinge  of  that  profession  ;  as  that  afterwards, 
he  proved  a  very  good  manager  for  himselfe,  and  his  name  had 
a  very  extraordinary  reputation  in  those  forraigne  partes, 
where  he  traded,  as  well  as  a  greate  and  constante  creditt  at 
home.  Shortly  after  he  was  out  of  his  apprentishippe  he 
married  ALICE  BRADBINGE,*  a  gentlewoman  decended  of 
auncient  and  good  family  in  Sussex,  but  aboute  that  time  ex- 
tinct in  the  heires  males,  and  the  estate  in  a  maner  wholy 
spent,  or  transferred  to  daughters.  My  grandfather  beinge 
then  maried,  and  possest  of  all  that  which  hee  was  to  have 
from  his  father  (who  was  dead  not  long  before)  found  himselfe 
with  his  owne  estate,  and  his  wife's  smale  pertion,  scarce  worth 
i,ooo/,  but  yet  goinge  honestly,  carefully,  and  cheerefully  on 
in  his  way,  it  pleased  God  so  to  blesse  him,  as  that  at  the  time 
of  his  death,  which  was  in  the  1576th  year  of  our  Lord  and  6ist 
of  his  age,  he  left  behinde  him  lands  to  the  valew  then  of  i,ooo/ 
a  yeare,  and  a  greate  personall  estate,  which  yet  by  some  ill 
fortunes  at  sea,  and  bad  debtors,  was  a  good  deale  lessened 
some  yeares  before  his  death  :  His  eldest  sonne,  my  father, 
was  borne  in  the  year  1549,  and  till  he  was  neere  sixteene  yeares 
of  age,  was  brought  upp  in  severall  schools  in  London,  and  I 
have  heard  himself  say,  was  divers  times  carried  by  his  mother 
(whoe  even  in  those  times  of  persecution  was  a  constant  pro- 
fessor of  the  true  religion)  to  that  reverend  man,  and  blessed 
martyr,  MR.  BRADFORD,3  when  he  lay  in  prison,  from  whome 
he  received  many  pious  and  profitable,  instructions.  From 
London  schooles  he  went  to  ALEAK  HALL  in  Oxford,  and  spent 
about  three  yeares  there,  under  the  tutorage  of  Mr.  Aurthur 
Atee ;  one  that  was  a  wise  man,  as  well  as  a  good  scholler, 
under  whose  education,  hee  promted  well  in  the  studies  of 

1  More  correctly  Bradbridge. 
»  John  Bradford,  prebendary  of  St.  Paul's,  burnt  at  Smithfield  in  1555. 


194  THE   ANCESTOR 

philosophic  and  humanitie,  and  would  surely  have  become 
a  generall  good  scholler  had  he  continued  in  that  course  ;  but 
his  father,  whoe  in  his  whole  life  had  the  ill  fortune  not  to 
make  a  true  judgment  of  the  worth  and  vertue  of  that  sonne, 
beinge  maynely  carried,  by  the  sway  of  his  affection,  to  the 
love  and  likinge  of  his  second  brother,  tooke  him  from  Oxford 
at  the  time  of  his  best  advantage,  and  put  him  even  almost 
as  a  servaunt,  to  one  Mr.  Barker,  a  lawyer  (an  honest  and 
religious  man,  but  of  meane  condition  in  himselfe,  and  little 
reputation  in  his  proffession),  under  him  to  learne  the  rudi- 
ments of  the  lawe,  and  a  lowely  way  of  life,  wherein  my 
grandfather  (takinge  as  it  seemeth  a  wronge  levell  of  my 
fathers  spiritt)  sought  to  humble  him,  and  to  checque  those 
risinge  thoughts,  which  the  condition  of  an  elder  brother  (by 
this  tyme  become  heire  to  a  reasonable  good  fortune)  might 
begett  in  him,  and  though  in  some  natures  this  dejection  way 
might  peradventure  have  produced  some  ill  effects,  yet  in  my 
father,  who  was  all  humility  and  meecknesse,  it  brought  foorth 
nothinge  but  an  obedient  yeeldinge  to  his  fathers  will,  and  a 
cheerefull  applyinge  himselfe  to  the  directions  and  instruc- 
tions of  Mr  Barker,  though  he  were  neither  kinde  nor  scarse 
civill  to  him ;  but  my  grandfather,  soone  fyndinge  that  his 
sonne  was  soe  farre  from  a  stubborne  opposinge  of  his  will,  as 
that  he  submitted  himselfe  with  all  dutifullnesse  even  to  this 
meane  course,  gatheringe  from  this  experiment  a  better 
opinion  of  him,  and  beinge  seconded  in  those  thoughts  by  the 
inclination  of  his  wife  (who  was  always  to  hir  eldest  sonne  a 
very  lovinge  and  indulgent  mother)  after  some  fewe  months 
he  took  him  out  of  this  course  and  placed  him  in  Graies  Inne ; 
where  he  continued  about  five  yeeres,  and  gained  in  that  time 
soe  much  knowledge  of  the  lawes  of  the  lande  as  was  afterwards 
very  usefull  to  him  in  the  defence  of  his  owne  estate,  and  enabled 
him  to  doe  much  good  in  his  country  by  his  advise  and  effec- 
tuall  endeavours  of  peace  among  his  neighboures,  in  which  he 
labored  constantly  even  to  his  dying  day,  and  as  I  have  heard 
him  say  with  soe  good  successe  as  that,  in  all  his  life  time,  he 
never  but  once  fayled  to  effect  the  peace  he  endevored  to 
make.  At  Graies  Inne  his  conversation  and  familiarity  was 
with  the  men  of  best  esteeme,  with  some  of  whome  he  then 
made  a  friendshipp  that  continued  duringe  their  lives,  as  with 
old  Mr  Honiwood,  Sir  Thomas  Peyton,  Sir  Thomas  Bodley, 
Sr  Willm  Wade,  and  such  others,  and  with  the  first  two  his 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  195 

freindshipp,  beganne  at  Graies  Inne,  begat  afterwards  a  neere 
aliance  ;  havinge  thus  spent  some  yeeres  in  Graies  Inne,  when 
he  was  aboute  25  yeeres  old,  his  parents  thought  fitt  to 
seeke  out  a  wife  for  him,  and  my  grandfather  havinge  some 
few  yeeres  before  bought  the  two  manners  of  Bilsington  in  Kent, 
he  was  desirous  to  match  him  into  that  country  where  the 
estate  lay,  which  hee  meant  to  assure  him,  and  by  the  motion 
of  some  friends,  but  principaly  by  my  LORD  WOOTONS  meanes 
(who  had  beene  very  familiar  with  my  father  at  Oxford)  there 
was  a  treatie  of  manage  sett  one  foote  betwixt  him  and  the 
daughter  of  Mr  ROBT  RUDSTON,*  cousin  germaine  to  my  LORD 
WOOTTON,  which  after  some  pawses,  by  reason  of  the  parents 
disagreeinge  about  portion,  was  in  the  end  accomplished,  to 
the  great  joy  of  the  younge  couple,  whoe  had  setled  on  each 
other  a  very  deere  affection,  and  to  the  greate  contentment 
and  comfort  of  theire  parents,  for  though  my  grandfather 
BARNHAM  had  with  his  daughter  in  law  but  a  thousand  markes 
portion,  yet  her  modest  and  vertuous  education  and  the 
aliance  shee  brought,  gave  him  great  satisfaction,  and  my 
grandfather  RUDSTON  joyed  so  much  in  the  hopefulnesse  or 
rather  assured  good  proofe  of  his  sonne  in  lawe,  as  that  he 
prefered  him  (as  I  have  often  heard  them  both  say)  before  two 
other  husbands  then  offered  his  daughter,  though  both  of 
them  were  gentlemen  of  auntient  descent  in  their  country, 
and  of  farre  better  estates  then  could  be  hoped  for  with  my 
father.  In  the  year  1572,  and  the  month  of  August,  my 
father  was  maried  at  Boughton  Malherb,  upon  the  desire  and 
at  the  charge  of  Mr  THOMAS  WOOTTON,  whoe  was  doubly  my 
mothers  uncle,  and  alwaies  most  kinde  and  indulgent  to  hir, 
and  the  mariage  was  sollemnized  with  the  presence  of  allmost 
all  the  f reinds  and  kindred  on  both  sides,  and  Sr  John  Wootton, 
who  was  then  a  younge  courtiour,  brought  a  masque  thither 
of  gentlemen  of  qualitie.  Within  foure  dayes  after  his  mari- 
age, my  father  came  to  live  with  my  grandfather  RUDSTON, 
and  spent  about  foure  yeares  in  his  house,  with  greate  con- 
tentment to  all,  which  could  not  have  beene  but  that  his 
judgment  and  temper  kept  him  from  interfeeringe  with  the 
passionatnesse  of  his  father  in  lawe,  whoe  was  a  brave  gentle- 

1  Sir  Martin  Barnham  married  (i.)  Ursula  dau.  of  Robert  Rudston  of 
Boughton  Monchelsea,  esquire,  by  whom  he  had  two  sons,  and  (ii.)  Judith  dau. 
of  Sir  Martin  Calthorpe  of  London,  knight,  by  whom  he  had  five  sons  and  five 
daughters.  He  died  12  Dec.  1610,  aetat.  63.  [M.I.  at  Hollingbourn.] 


196  THE   ANCESTOR 

man,  and  of  a  very  lovinge  disposition,  but  so  furiously  chol- 
lericke  as  required  a  greate  deale  of  discretion  to  avoyd  the 
incounter  of  that  humor.  Hawing  thus  lived  happily  with 
his  father  in  lawe  some  foure  yeares,  Hollingboorne  Parsonage 
(which  was  then  a  lease  of  neere  forty  yeeres  in  beinge)  was 
offered  him,  which  his  frugality,  during  the  time  he  lived 
without  charge  in  the  house  of  his  father  in  law,  and  some 
little  helps  from  his  good  mother,  enabled  him  to  buy  at  the 
rate  of  £1,100,  and  there  shortly  after  he  settled  himselfe,  and 
continued  in  it  till  his  dyinge  day,  which  was  34  yeares 
after  (without  any  intermission  savinge  some  few  months  after 
myne  owne  mothers  death),  keepinge  all  that  time  a  bounti- 
full,  and  in  his  latter  yeeres  a  brave  house  full  of  his  owne 
children,  most  of  whome  were  then  growen  to  ripenesse  of 
age,  and  by  his  friends  often  visited,  to  whome  he  gave  alwayes 
a  very  harty  and  cheerfull  welcome,  with  such  entertainment 
as  though  it  were  noble  and  plentifull,  yet  was  it  not  streyned 
to  that  height  of  excesse,  or  curiositie,  which  might  make 
them  unwillinge  to  come  often  unto  him.  Soone  after  his 
being  setled  at  Hollingbourn,  my  grandfather  BARNHAM  died, 
and  left  him  no  more  estate  but  both  the  Bilsingtons,  which 
being  then  lett  at  low  rates,  and  charged  with  3OO/S  a  yeere 
to  his  mother,  were  for  the  present  but  of  smale  valew.  That 
which  made  my  grandfather  deale  so  hardley  with  him  was 
partly  a  partiall  indulgence  to  his  younger  sonnes,  to  whome 
he  left  great  estates,  and  partly,  a  confidence  that  my  father 
would  have  no  children,  for  at  that  time  my  mother  had 
neither  child,  nor  great  belly,  to  give  any  hope  of  hir  fruit- 
fullnesse ;  but  within  a  yeere  after,  notwithstandinge  these 
prsures  of  his  estate  he  went  cheerfully  on,  and  by  his  owne 
judgment,  and  my  mothers  providence,  did  so  well  manage 
that  smale  estate  as  made  him  able  to  buy  some  meadow  pas- 
ture and  woodlands  in  Hollingbourne,  which  together  with 
the  commodity  of  the  parsonage  made  his  dwellinge  very 
convenient.  But  whilst  he  was  goinge  on  in  this  comfortable 
course  of  life  it  pleased  God  to  lay  a  very  heavy  affliction  uppon 
him  by  the  death  of  my  excellent  mother,  who  died  in  the 
yeere  1579  in  childbed  of  a  sonne,  whoe  lived  but  ten  days 
after  hir,  which,  as  it  brake  the  comforte,  so  also  the  course  of 
his  life  ;  for  presently  after  hir  death  he  gave  up  house,  let  out 
the  parsonage  of  Hollingbourne  and  his  lands  there  and  lived, 
sometymes  with  his  own  mother,  and  sometymes  with  his 


SIR    FRANCIS   BARNHAM  197 

father  in  lawe ;  but  fyndinge  this  but  an  unsetled  lyfe,  and 
beinge  then  but  a  younge  man,  and  father  but  of  one  child 
lyving,  nature,  reason,  and  the  advise  of  his  freindes,  per- 
swaded  him  to  a  second  marriage  which,  some  eight  months 
after  my  mothers  death,  he  accomplished  with  the  daughter 
of  ALDERMAN  CALTHORP,  afterward  Lord  Maior  of  London  ; 
whoe  was  a  very  loving  good  natured  gentleman,  and  ex- 
tracted of  an  auntient  and  noble  family  in  Northfolke  ;  whose 
wife  was  an  Heath,  great  aunt  to  BOBT  HEATH,  now  Attorney 
Generall  to  his  Majestic.  With  this  second  wife  my  father 
had  a  present  portion  of  8oo/,  assurance  of  4oo/  more  at  his 
fathers  death,  and  good  hopes  of  a  greater  fortune  by  the 
advantage  of  his  affection,  which  made  him  very  indulgent 
to  hir,  and  by  the  condition  of  his  sonnes  in  whome  he  was 
eyther  not  happy,  or  not  well  satisfied.  But  yet  those  strong 
motives  of  complyinge  with  his  second  mariage  could  not  so 
prevaile  uppon  my  fathers  goodnesse  and  justice,  as  that  he 
would  setle  any  of  the  lands  left  him  by  his  father  uppon  his 
second  issue,  but  resolvinge  to  leave  them  intire  to  his  first 
sonne,  the  hopes  of  his  after  children  rested  in  the  lease  and 
lands  which  he  had  in  Hollingbourne,  and  in  God  his  future 
blessinge,  which  so  multiplied  uppon  him,  as  that  at  his 
death  he  left  5OO/S  a  yeare  of  his  owne  purchase  amonge  his 
younger  sonnes,  gave  fayre  portions  to  foure  daughters,  and 
left  me  bysides  both  the  Bilssingtons,  a  faire  howse  newly 
built  at  Hollingbourne,  and  an  hundred  pounds  a  yeere  lands 
to  it. 

Not  longe  before  his  second  mariage  there  hapned  a 
passage  betweene  his  mother  and  him,  worth  the  relatinge, 
as  beinge  a  lively  picture  of  hir  goodnesse  to  him,  and  his  duti- 
fullnesse  to  hir.  The  court-lodge  of  Bilsington  was  made  in 
joynture  to  my  grandmother  BARNHAM,  and  after  my  grand- 
father's death  leased  by  hir  to  my  father,  at  the  rent  of  3OO/S 
a  yeere  for  the  terme  of  hir  life,  by  which  lease  some  smale 
benefitt  accrued  to  my  father  in  prsent,  and  after  the  expira- 
tion of  some  old  leases  it  was  like  to  be  of  a  better  valew. 
There  was  afterwards  a  treaty  of  mariage  betweene  my  grand- 
mother and  SIR  JOHN  RAMSEY,  a  very  rich  alderman  of  Lon- 
don, which  treaty  was  almost  concluded  uppon  such  termes 
as  were  very  advantagious  to  my  grandmother.  But  the  old 
knight,  findinge  in  the  pursute  of  this  match  that  my  grand- 
mothers joynture  was  leased  out  to  hir  prejudice,  insisted 


198  THE  ANCESTOR 

manely  uppon  the  callinge  in  of  that  lease,  pretendinge 
that  he  would  make  hir  house  at  Bilsington  habitable,  live  in 
it  most  part  of  the  sommers,  and  have  hir  children  and  his 
friends  with  him.  But  the  truth  was  that  his  ayme  in  getting 
in  of  my  fathers  lease  was  only  to  improve  my  grandmothers 
joynture  to  the  full  valew,  though  without  that  shee  havinge, 
besides  hir  3OO/  a  year,  a  very  good  personall  estate.  But  he, 
pressinge  hard  for  the  takinge  in  of  hir  lease,  and  there  beinge 
a  full  agreement  in  all  other  conditions,  my  grandmother 
acquainted  my  father  with  SIR  JOHN  RAMSEYES  desire  and 
made  hir  owne  to  him,  that  he  would  surrender  his  lease  and 
gave  some  reason  to  perswade  him  to  it ;  to  which  my  father 
made  answere  in  such  sort  as  might  have  beene  full  satisfac- 
tion had  not  the  importunity  of  a  lovinge  mother  prevailed 
against  all  the  reason  a  dutifull  sonne  could  urge  ;  so  that  the 
conclusion  was  that  my  father  promised  hir,  and  appointed  a 
day  to  deliver  in  his  lease,  with  which  she  acquainted  Sir  JOHN 
RAMSEY,  and  desired  him  to  be  present  when  the  lease  was  to 
be  surrendered  to  hir.  My  father  kept  his  time,  and  the 
covetous  old  knight  fayled  not,  and  asoone  as  he  saw  my 
grandmother  possest  of  the  lease  by  my  fathers  deliveringe 
thereof  into  hir  hands,  he  told  hir  that  now  the  mariage  be- 
tween them  should  with  all  speed  be  consumated,  and  named 
a  speedye  day  for  it.  Nay,  sayeth  my  grandmother  to  him, 
good  Sir  John  be  not  soe  hasty,  except  it  be  to  appoint  your 
weddinge  day  with  some  other  wife,  for  on  mee  I  assure  you 
you  must  not  reckon,  for  I  shall  never  thinke  my  selfe  happily 
bestowed  uppon  a  husband  that  setteth  soe  smale  a  valew  on 
mee,  as  you  have  done  in  making  this  little  improvement  of 
my  joynture  (for  that  I  knowe  was  indeede  your  ayme)  a 
necessary  condition  of  your  match  with  mee.  But  it  hath 
fallen  out  well  to  give  me  true  satisfaction,  the  one  of  your 
nature,  which  surely  is  set  soe  uppon  covetousness,  as  would 
have  given  me  but  smale  comfort  in  you,  the  other  of  my 
sonnes  intire  and  good  affection  to  me,  which  made  him  com- 
ply with  my  desires,  though  to  his  owne  prejudice,  for  which 
I  bless  e  him,  and  in  retribution  of  my  love  doe  here  give  him 
backe  his  lease  againe  wishinge  it  were  of  much  better  valew 
then  it  is,  that  so  it  might  make  a  full  expression  of  my  love  to 
him,  and  my  just  acknowledgment  of  his  lovinge  and  dutifull 
carriage  to  me.  And  so  Sr  John  Ramsey  and  shee  parted, 
which  true  storie,  though  it  relate  principally  to  my  grand- 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  199 

mothers  goodnesse,  yet  my  father  hath  soe  greate  a  share  in 
it,  as  maketh  it  I  thinke  not  unfitt  for  this  discourse. 

Beinge  thus  settled  in  propertie  and  present  possession  for 
matter  of  command  of  both  the  Bilsingtons,  which  beinge  of 
those  manors  that  are  called  lordshipps  of  Rumney  Marshe, 
did  thereby  give  my  father  a  greate  interest  in  the  command  of 
that  country,  he  applied  himselfe  with  so  much  care  and  dili- 
gence in  that  businesse,  as  that  within  few  yeeres  he  became 
as  it  were  their  oracle,  so  that  the  choise  of  officers,  directing 
of  worke  for  their  saftie  against  the  sea,  and  whatsoever  else 
belonged  to  the  government  of  that  country  rested  prinsipally 
in  his  hands,  and  was  carried  with  soe  much  judgment  and 
integretie  as  even  to  this  day,  which  is  almost  twentie  yeeres 
after  his  death,  any  opinion  or  rule  that  he  gave  in  bussinesse 
of  the  Mersh  serveth  full  for  a  precedent  in  the  like  case.  His 
custome  was  to  goe  to  the  Priory  of  Bilsington  almost  every 
Whitsuntide  duringe  the  time  that  he  was  owner  of  those 
landes  and  most  tymes  he  called  with  him  my  mother  in 
lawe  and  some  of  his  children,  soe  that  havinge  there  a  full 
family  of  his  owne,  divers  of  his  friends,  the  officers  of  the 
Mersh,  and  his  tenannts,  cominge  daily  to  him,  his  beinge 
there  was  like  a  summers  Christmas  in  regard  of  the  fullnesse  of 
his  company  and  greatnesse  of  his  expence,  which  yett  was  noe 
great  charge  to  him,  because  his  tenannts  never  fayled  to  pre- 
sent him  with  such  good  materialls  of  housekeepinge  as  that 
season  of  the  yeere  affoorded,  which  he  requited  with  familiar 
and  kinde  usage  friendly  discourse,  and  advising  them  aboute 
theire  owne  particular  afFayres,  and  above  all  with  a  gentle 
hand  in  the  lettinge  of  his  lands,  soe  that  I  thinke  never  any 
landlord  had  more  power  of  free  tenants  then  he  had. 
Shortley  after  his  second  mariage  he  was  plunged  into  the 
trouble  and  charge  of  a  greate  and  dangerous  sute,  for  the 
Courtlodge  of  Bilsington,  the  best  of  his  two  manors  there, 
for  this  mannor  beinge  purchased  by  my  grandfather  of  the 
Lord  Cheyney,  whoe  sold  other  lands  to  severall  lords  and 
gentlemen  of  the  valew  of  at  least  2o,ooo/s  a  yeere,  soe  greate 
an  estate  hanging  by  the  thread  of  one  title  gave  an  edge  to  all 
such  as  could  make  the  least  colour  of  title  to  quarell  that 
estate  ;  theire  least  hope  being  to  gett  some  good  composition 
for  strengthening  by  their  assurances  the  title  of  lands  bought 
(as  was  pretended)  at  unvalueable  rates,  and  defective  in 
assurances.  The  first  that  apeared  in  this  great  sute  was  SIR 


200  THE   ANCESTOR 

JOHN  PERROT,  then  a  Privie  Counseller,  and  in  greate  favour 
with  QUEEN E  ELIZABETH,  whose  eldest  sonne,  SIR  THOMAS 
PERROT,  was  borne  of  the  sister,  or  aunt,  to  the  Lord  CHEYNEY/ 
and  soe  made  title  to  that  estate  as  heire  generall ;  which 
clayme,  though  in  itselfe  it  was  very  weak  and  unvalidious, 
yet  being  countenanced  by  great  persons  animated  by  the  hope 
of  havinge  great  shares  either  in  the  recovery  of  those  lands  or 
the  composition  for  them,  it  was  followed  with  soe  great  vio- 
lence, and  seconded  with  soe  greate  power,  as  gave  the  pur- 
chasers enough  to  doe  to  maynetayne  a  just,  lawfull,  and  equit- 
able title.  Among  them  that  stoode  in  the  breach  at  this  assault 
my  father  was  one  of  the  most  forward ;  two  third  parts  of 
his  estate  restinge  upon  that  title  ;  and  havinge  after  some 
little  time  given  such  prooff  of  his  judgment  and  diligence,  as 
made  almost  all  his  fellow  purchasers  cast  anchor  in  his  faith- 
fullnesse  and  abilitie  he  was  reputed  the  great  champion  of  the 
side.  Sr  John  Perrot  takinge  notice  thereof,  thought  it  would 
be  a  great  advantage  if  he  could  worke  my  father  off  from  the 
assistance  of  the  cause,  towards  the  effectinge  whereof  he 
thought  a  private  discourse  with  him,  fitted  to  the  occasion, 
would  be  most  forcible,  and  thereupon  sent  to  him  in  a  civill 
respective  manner  to  intreate  his  coming  to  him  ;  my  father 
obeyed  his  desires  by  a  speedy  repayringe  unto  him ;  when 
he  was  come,  after  a  very  courteous  salutation,  and  respectfull 
usage,  Sr  John  began  with  him  on  this  manner.  Mr  BARN  HAM, 
I  know  well  what  right  my  sonne  hath  to  the  LORD  CHEYNEYS 
lands,  and  I  know  well  how  much  your  judgment  and  active- 
nesse  strengtheneth  his  adversaries  side.  I  cannot  thinke 
that  you  are  thus  earnest  against  my  sonne  from  any  other 
motive  than  the  care  of  defendinge  your  owne  estate  which 
(if  you  will)  shall  be  fortified  by  the  best  assurance  my  sonnes 
title  canne  give  you,  for  which  nothinge  shall  be  required  at 
your  hands  but  that  you  will  become  a  looker  on  in  this  sute, 
without  contributing  any  help  to  either  side ;  and  yf  you 
shall  thinke  this  offer  worth  your  imbracing,  advise  with  your 
Counsell,  and  your  assurances  shall  be  bettered  by  my  sonne 

1  Sir  Henry  Cheyne,  knight,  summoned  in  1572  as  Lord  Cheyne  of  Todding- 
ton,  died  s.p.  in  1587,  having  wasted  his  estate.  His  three  half-sisters,  daughters 
of  the  first  marriage  of  his  father,  Sir  Thomas  Cheyne  of  Sheppey,  K.G.,  were 
his  coheirs.  Anne  Cheyne,  the  third  of  these,  was  the  first  wife  of  Sir  John 
Perrot,  the  lord  deputy  of  Ireland,  and  mother  of  Sir  Thomas  Perrot  his  heir. 
Sir  John  Perrot,  who  was  reckoned  a  bastard  son  of  Henry  VIII.,  died  in  1592. 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  201 

accordinge  to  the  best  of  their  directions.  Although  this  un- 
expected proposition  were  such  a  surprise  to  my  father  as 
might  well  have  distracted  his  thoughts  soe  farre  as  to  have 
kept  him  from  a  present  answer  to  SIR  JOHN  PERROT,  yet  re- 
collectinge  himselfe,  after  a  little  pawse,  he  gave  him  this 
answere.  That  he  held  himselfe  much  bound  to  his  honor 
for  offeringe  him  that  which  he  thought  a  favour,  but  for  his 
owne  parte  he  could  not  acknowledge  it  soe,  because  he  was 
confident  that  the  title  he  had  to  those  lands  which  his  father 
had  bought  of  the  Lord  Cheyney  was  as  good  as  law  and 
equitie  could  make  it,  and  should  therefore  be  rather  pre- 
judiced then  strenghtned  by  any  adition  of  assurance,  soe 
that  beinge  thus  fully  satisfied  in  his  owne  title,  and  conse- 
quently in  that  of  all  his  fellow  purchasers  in  pointe  of  their 
legall  and  consionable  right  he  could  not  with  his  judg- 
ment make  any  use  of  his  offered  favour,  nor  with  his  reputa- 
tion deserte  a  side  that  had  trusted  him  soe  much  and  did  still 
relye  soe  much  on  him.  SIR  JOHN  PERROT  beinge  netled  with 
this  answere  sayde  to  him  in  an  angry  manner  :  well  then, 
seeinge  you  will  not  be  an  indifferent  man  betweene  my  selfe 
and  sonne  and  our  adversaries,  wee  will  both  repute  you  as  our 
greatest  enemy  and  expect  our  prosecution  accordingly,  and 
so  leavinge  him  suddenly  without  soe  much  as  a  civill  farwell 
theire  partinge  was  as  full  of  unkindnesse  as  theire  first  meet- 
inge  was  of  complement  and  fayre  respect ;  and  suddenly 
after,  Sir  John  Perrot  made  good  his  word,  for  layinge  aside 
all  the  other  purchasers,  as  if  he  made  a  peace,  or  at  least  a 
truce  with  them,  all  the  batteries  were  made  against  my  father 
alone,  and  soe  continued,  till  SIR  JOHN  PERROT'S  disgrace  first, 
and  soone  after  his  death  (both  which  fell  out  within  a  short 
time),  gave  him  a  little  cessation  from  those  troubles,  but  it 
was  not  long  before  other  men,  farre  greater  and  more  power- 
full  than  he,  undertooke  that  suite  against  the  whole  body  of 
the  purchasers,  whoe  still  relyed  uppon  my  father  as  their 
cheife  champion,  and  in  conclusion  though  those  troubles 
lasted,  duringe  the  tyme  of  my  father's  life  and  beyond  it, 
yett  still  the  purchasers  made  good  theire  titles  without  any 
the  least  appearance  of  danger,  of  all  which  violent  and  unjust 
prosecutions,  that  had  theire  agitation  in  his  life  tyme,  my 
father  made  a  true  collection,  by  way  of  an  historicall  narration, 
in  which  it  appeared  that  scarce  any  one  of  those  greate  per- 
sons, or  other  that  had  a  hannd  in  that  unjust  vexation,  scaped 


202  THE    ANCESTOR 

the  Divine  punnisment,  by  some  remarkeable  misfortune  for 
soe  unlawfull  and  dishonerable  an  atempt  :  and  since  my 
fathers  death  I  have  made  a  true  and  just  addition  of  some 
great  persons  to  that  unfortunate  list.  But  to  returne  to 
other  particulars  of  that  part  of  my  fathers  life  in  which  this 
greate  suite  beganne,  about  that  time  he  was  made  a  Justice 
of  the  Peace  ;  in  which  service,  so  necessary  for  the  good  and 
saftie  of  the  common  wealth  !  he  was  as  active,  as  able,  takinge 
greate  paynes  therein  even  untill  the  day  of  his  death,  savinge 
three  smale  tymes  of  intermission,  wherein  he  was  put  out  of 
the  comission  ;  twice  by  the  unjust  displeasure  of  greate  lords, 
whoe  meant  him  a  disgrace  therein,  and  last  of  all  by  his  owne 
desire  to  free  his  life  from  the  trouble  of  that  service,  but 
after  his  two  first  puttings  out  of  commission  he  was  putt  in 
againe  within  a  few  months,  not  by  his  owne,  or  his  freinds 
suite,  but  by  the  meanes  of  those  lords  that  putt  him  out ; 
whoe  groweing  to  beleive  better  of  his  merrit,  and  to  be  sen- 
sible of  the  wronge  they  had  done  him,  and  in  him  that  parte 
of  the  county  where  he  lived,  retracted  their  error  and  made 
themselves  the  meanes  of  his  beinge  putt  agayne  into  comis- 
sion, and  when  afterwards  my  father  was  putt  out  of  the  com- 
ission of  the  peace  at  his  owne  suite,  and  yett  kept  in  the 
comission  of  the  subsidie,  my  LORD  CHANCELLER  EGERTON 
meetinge  one  day  with  my  Lord  of  LEICH  ESTER,  whome 
he  knew  to  be  my  father's  noble  freind,  told  him  that  it  was 
not  fitt  that  my  father  should  exercise  the  power  that  the 
comission  of  subsidie  gave  him,  except  he,  that  was  every  way 
soe  able  for  it,  would  take  paines  in  the  commission  of  the 
peace  ;  which  hee  desired  my  Lord  of  Leichester  to  intimate 
unto  him,  which  my  lord  did  accordingly,  and  seconded  it  so 
stronglie  with  his  owne  reasons  and  perswasions,  as  made  my 
father  willinge  to  reenter  upon  that  service,  in  which  from 
that  time  he  continued  to  his  dyinge  day  ;  and  executed  it  all 
his  time  with  so  much  moderation  and  soe  peacefull  a  spirrite, 
as  that  I  heard  him  say  a  little  before  his  death,  that  of  many 
hundreds,  whoe  in  that  longe  tyme  of  his  service  came  to  him 
to  require  the  peace  or  good  behaviour  of  their  neighbours,  he 
bound  over  but  two  only,  his  perswations  of  peace  prevailing 
with  all  the  rest  against  the  spirrit  of  contention  which  brought 
them  to  him  uppon  that  occasion.  Neither  was  he  in  those 
dayes  lesse  fortunate  in  his  owne  affayres,  then  he  was  to  his 
owne  country  and  neighboures  in  his  care  of  theire  good  ;  for 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  203 

as  it  pleased  God  to  blesse  him  with  many  children,  soe  alsoe 
with  a  dayly  groweth  of  his  reputation,  and  increase  of  his 
estate  to  which  hee  made  a  good  addition  by  divers  smale 
purchases. 

In  the  yeere  1598  he  was  made  high  Sheriffe  of  Kent,  and 
was  in  the  bill  for  it  divers  yeares  before  ;  but  as  longe  as  the 
suite  against  the  purchasers  of  the  Lord  Cheyneys  lands  was 
eagerly  followed,  those  greate  men  that  prosecuted  that  greate 
suite  kept  him  from  beinge  sheriff,  as  fearinge  least  the  power 
of  that  office  might  in  his  hands  have  been  some  disadvantage 
to  theire  side.  Those  duties  and  directions  which  are  re- 
quired from  an  high  sheriff,  in  the  substantial!  and  sere- 
monious  parte  of  his  office,  were  so  well  performed  by  him  as 
that  they  served  for  precedents  to  many  of  those  that  succeeded 
him ;  soe  that  the  under  sheriffe  he  made  choyse  of  (whoe 
was  one  that  before  that  time  had  not  executed  that  office), 
by  the  reputation  of  his  choyse,  was  made  under  sheriff  by 
7  or  8  of  the  next  high  sheriffs,  and  the  security  which 
my  father  required  from  him  was  conceived  to  be  taken  with 
so  much  judgment,  and  fitt  caution,  as  that  the  high  sheriffes 
of  some  other  countryes  (as  well  as  those  of  his  owne)  sent 
some  yeares  after  to  my  father  for  his  directions  on  that  be- 
halfe,  and  made  them  the  precedents  by  which  they  secured 
themselves  against  the  greate  danger  which  did  commonly 
attend  the  high  sheriffs  by  the  negligent  ignorance  or  fals- 
ness  of  their  under  sheriffs  if  it  were  not  prevented  by  a  truly 
wisdome.  As  for  the  formall  and  shewinge  part  of  his  office, 
he  carried  it  in  a  high  line  of  fitnesse  and  decency,  without 
any  touch  of  lownesse  or  vanity ;  his  entertainement  at  the 
Assizes,  his  number  of  servants,  and  his  gifts  to  the  judges, 
being  all  of  them  fitly  proportioned.  That  yeare  of  his 
shrivalty  was  acompanied  with  many  good  fortunes  con- 
siderable in  his  life,  for  hee  then  maried  his  eldest  daughter  to 
the  eldest  sonne  of  his  auntiente  and  worthey  freind,  Mr 
ROBERT  HONYWOOD,  which  match  in  regard  of  the  quality  of 
his  sonne  in  lawe,  and  his  fayre  hopes  of  very  good  estate, 
was  full  of  comforte  and  reputation,  and  shortly  after  he 
maried  me  to  the  daughter  of  Mr  SAMSON  LENNARD  *  and  the 
LADY  DACRE,  in  which  match,  his  goodnesse  to  me  wards, 
sought  rather  to  give  me  a  wife  that  might  bringe  mee  a  noble 

1  There  is  a  picture  of  this  Samson  Lennard  in  the  Ancestor,  vol.  5. 


204  THE   ANCESTOR 

alliance,  and  promise  the  happinesse  of  a  good  wife  (as  beinge 
borne  of  a  mother  that  abounded  as  much  in  worth  and  vertue 
as  in  honor)  then  to  enriche  himselfe,  or  his  other  children  by 
so  greate  a  portion  as  it  is  probable  he  might  have  had  in 
divers  places,  if  that  had  beene  his  cheifest  ayme  in  my  mari- 
age.  About  that  time  alsoe  he  bought  a  purchase  of  good 
valew,  though  his  mother  whoe  kept  a  good  parte  of  his  estate 
from  him  was  then  alive,  soe  that  one  yeare  gave  him  the 
reputation  of  beinge  high  sheriffe  (which  in  those  dayes  sunke 
not  so  lowe  as  since  it  hath  done),  of  marrying  his  two  eldest 
children  to  much  comfort  and  happinesse,  and  of  givinge  a 
good  adition  to  his  estate  by  a  great  purchase.  In  those  pro- 
gresses of  good  fortune  his  life  went  hapily  on,  his  estate  and 
reputation  groweinge  with  his  age,  which  may  justly  be 
recconed  amongst  his  greatest  temporall  blessinges,  because 
it  brought  v?01  it  cheerefullnesse  and  comfort  to  the  latter 
parte  of  his  lyfe ;  which  to  most  men  is  but  a  malancholly 
disconted  beinge,  either  through  waywordnesse  of  age,  infir- 
mity of  body,  or  deficiency  of  fortune.  Within  lesse  than 
two  yeares  after  my  marriage  I  came  to  live  in  my  fathers 
house,  though  I  had  then  by  covenant  one  yeeres  beinge  more 
with  my  father  in  lawe,  whoe  though  he  kept  a  very  honorable 
house,  and  lived  in  all  respects  in  soe  brave  a  fassion  as 
might  make  the  beinge  there  very  delightfull,  especially  to 
me,  whoe  had  always  from  all  hands  a  very  lovinge  and  noble 
treatment,  yett  the  happinesse  I  promised  myselfe  in  the  daily 
comfort  of  my  fathers  kinde  and  familiar  usage,  and  in  his 
advise  and  instructions  (which  were  always  given  me  in  a  most 
indulgent  manner)  made  me  hasten  my  cominge  to  live  with 
him  a  yeare  before  my  time.  My  brother  and  sister  Hony- 
wood  then  lived  in  the  howse  and  spent  some  yeares  there 
with  all  possible  comfort  to  all  parties,  soe  that  livinge  in  a 
full  and  well  agreeinge  family,  I  can  reckon  noe  parte  of  my 
life,  spent  with  more  contentment  then  it  was,  which  must  be 
chiefly  ascribed  to  that  goodnesse  and  sweetnesse  of  my 
fathers  disposition  and  fashion  which,  like  the  operations  of 
fayre  and  cleere  weather,  made  all  that  lived  with  him  lively 
and  cherefull. 

1603.  Aboute  this  tyme  KINGE  JAMES  came  to  this  crowne, 
to  whom  QUEENE  ELIZABETH,  by  hir  constantly  sparinge  hand 
of  all  sorts  of  honor,  left  greate  power  of  satisfaction  and  re- 
wards in  that  kind,  of  which  among  others  KNIGHTHOOD  was 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  205 

most  pursued  as  beinge  that  of  which  soe  many  men,  were  then 
fitly  capable.  The  kinge  havinge  beene  very  bountifull  of 
that  honor  in  his  journey  from  SCOTLAND  to  LONDON,  moste 
parte  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  other  parts  of  England  were 
desirous  to  dresse  themselves  in  that  generall  fashion  ;  and 
though  on  some  particuler  men  by  the  king's  favour,  or  the 
mediation  of  some  greate  men,  that  honor  was  freely  bestowed, 
yett  generally  it  was  purchased  att  greate  rates,  as  at  three,  four, 
and  five  hundred  pounds,  accordinge  to  the  circomstances  of 
precedencye,  or  grace,  with  which  it  was  accompanied.  SIR 
JOHN  GRAY,  my  noble  freind  and  neere  allye,  findinge  the  way 
of  knightinge  by  favour  somewhat  slacke,  and  not  alwaies  cer- 
taine,  out  of  his  affection  to  mee,  at  the  kings  first  cominge 
to  LONDON,  treated  with  a  Scotchman,  an  acquaintance  of 
his,  and  drove  a  bargaine  that  for  8o/  and  some  courtesyes 
which  he  should  doe  him,  my  father  and  my  selfe  should  be 
knighted,  and  gave  me  present  knowledg  thereof  that  it 
might  speedily  be  effected,  with  which  I  made  my  father  in- 
stantly acquainted,  and  told  him  that  though  I  doubted  not 
but  to  procure  both  our  knighthoods  without  money  by  the 
power  of  some  greater  freinds  I  had  in  court,  yet  consideringe 
the  obligation  to  them  and  the  tyme  that  would  be  lost  before 
it  could  be  certainly  effected,  I  thought  it  would  be  a  better 
way  to  make  a  speedy  end  of  it  at  so  smale  a  charge  rather  then 
to  linger  it  out  at  uncertainetyes  at  such  a  time  as  every  man 
made  haste  to  crowd  at  the  new  play  of  knighting  heere.  My 
father  made  this  answere,  that  havinge  by  God's  blessinge  an 
estate  fitt  enough  for  knighthood,  and  havinge  managed 
those  offices  of  credite  which  a  country  gentleman  was  capable 
of,  he  should  not  be  unwillinge  to  take  that  honor  upon  him, 
if  he  might  have  it  in  such  a  fashion  as  that  himselfe  might 
hold  it  an  honor,  but  said  he  yf  I  pay  for  my  knighthood  I 
shall  never  be  called  SIR  MARTIN  but  that  I  shall  blush  for 
shame  to  thinke  how  I  came  by  it ;  yf  therefore  it  canot  be 
had  freely  I  am  resolved  to  content  myselfe  with  my  present 
condition,  and  for  my  wife  (saied  he  merrily)  I  will  buy  her  a 
new  gowne  instead  of  a  ladyshipp,  this  is  my  resolution  for 
myselfe,  and  that  which  I  thinke  fittest  for  you.  Findinge 
him  thus  resolved,  I  gave  over  that  way,  and  made  meanes  to 
my  noble  freind,  my  LORD  of  PEMBROOKE,  to  procure  my  father 
a  free  knighthoode,  which  hee  redilie  undertooke,  and 
apointed  him  a  day  to  attend  for  it  at  GREENWICH,  but  that 

o 


206  THE   ANCESTOR 

morninge  there  came  some  newes  out  of  Scotland  that  put  the 
Kinge  soe  out  of  humor  as  made  that  time  unfitt  for  it,  and 
instantly  after  it  was  published  that  the  kinge  would  make  noe 
more  knights  till  the  time  of  his  Crownation  as  resolvinge  to 
honor  that  day  with  a  greate  proportion  of  that  honor,  on 
which  day  my  father,  by  the  favour  of  my  LORD  PEMBROOCKE 
(sic),  had  the  honor  of  knighthoode  freely  bestowed  uppon 
him,  and  was  ranked  before  three-fourth  parts  of  that  days 
numerous  knightinge.  Shortly  after  this  my  father  married  his 
second  daughter  to  Mr  AUGUSTAINE  STEEUARD,  a  gentleman 
of  a  fayre  descent  and  good  estate,  to  whome  he  gave  a  good 
portion,  and  two  yeeres  diet  by  way  of  contract,  and  some 
yeeres  more  out  of  his  bounty  and  kindnesse,  which  allwaies 
exprest  itselfe  in  a  most  cheerfull  wellcome  to  his  children  and 
grandchildren,  as  beinge  that  which  was  beneficiall  to  them, 
and  comfortable  to  himselfe,  who  beinge  now  freed  from  the 
trouble  and  charge  of  suits,  and  his  estate  greatly  increased  by 
the  death  of  his  mother,  who  died  in  the  yeere  1604,  enjoyed 
the  quiete  of  his  own  howse,  the  comfort  of  his  children,  and 
the  plentifullnesse  of  his  estate  with  all  possible  happiness. 

And  here  it  shall  not  be  amisse  to  recite  one  perticuler 
that  hath  relation  to  that  greate  and  longe  continued  cause, 
uppon  the  purchasers  of  the  LORD  CHEYNEYES  lands,  because 
it  meeteth  with  this  time  and  conduceth  much  to  my  father's 
publicke  reputation  and  honor.  In  the  yeere  1608,  the  Par- 
liment  then  sittinge,  there  was  a  bill  brought  into  the  Howse 
of  Commons  intituled,  an  Act  for  the  securing  of  the  Lands 
bought  of  the  late  LORD  CHEYNEY  to  the  severall  purchasers 
thereof,  the  purporte  of  this  Acte  was  to  give  a  finall  securitie 
by  Acte  of  Parliment  to  such  of  the  purchasers  as  would  buy 
there  peace  by  compoundinge  with  some  that  pretended  to  a 
title  to  those  lands  (whoe  were  named  in  the  Bill),  at  the  rate 
(as  I  remember)  of  halfe  a  yeeres  valew  of  their  estates.  This 
bill  was  brought  in  to  the  howse  of  Commons  by  the  direc- 
tions of  the  LORD  ARUNDELL  of  Ward[our],  in  favour  of  a 
kinseman  of  his  that  pretended  a  title  to  those  lands,  and  by 
his  meanes  was  well  befreinded  in  the  Howse,  and  some  of  the 
purchasers,  eyther  out  of  want  of  judgment  or  weaknesse  of 
feare,  or  base  playinge  booty  on  that  side,  complied  with  it, 
soe  that  it  passed  readily  to  a  comittee,  which  accordinge  to 
the  manner  of  those  private  bills  was  chosen  of  men  for 
the  most  parte  very  favourably  affected  to  it.  In  the 


SIR    FRANCIS   BARNHAM  207 

meane  tyme  some  other  of  the  purchasers  that  stoode  upright 
in  the  cause  gave  my  father  notice  of  those  proceedings  and 
desired  him  with  all  earnestnesse  to  take  that  busines   fully 
&  wholy  into  his  owne  hands,  uppon  whose  care  and  judg- 
ment they  would  confidently  relye  ;   wherein  they  proceeded 
with  my  father,  as  the  state  of  ROME  was  wont  to  doe  when 
in  tyme  of  greate  danger,  they  made  a  Dictator  to  whome 
alone  they  gave  an  absolute  power  to  doe  what  hee  thought 
best,  with  these  woords  in  his  co mission  provided,  ne  quid 
detrimenti  respublica  capiat,  my  father  willingly  obeyed  theire 
desire  by  taking  that  business  into   his  serious  consideration 
but  beinge  by  some  important  business  inforced  to  be  in  the 
country  at  the  time  appointed  for  the  sittinge  of  that  com- 
ittie,  he  wrote  a  letter  and  directed  it  to  his  good  freind  SIR 
RICHARD  SMIGHT  (who  was  then  a  Parliament  man),  which 
letter  made  a  large  expression  of  his  opinion  against  the  offered 
Acte  of  Parliament,  and  of  the  reasons  that  did  leade  him  to 
that  opinion.      The  committee  beinge  sett  and  the  busines 
beganne,  many  speeches  were  made  in  favour  of  the  Bill,  and 
many  reasons   inforced,  and   this   cheefly   That  it  was  that 
which  moste  of  the  purchasers  desired,  which  some  of  them 
were  present  confirmed  by  theire  owne  avowed  consent,  and 
others  that  were  absent  were  named  as  willinge  consentors  to 
the  bill,  and  amonge  them  my  father  for  one,  yea  marry  said 
SIR  FRANCIS  BACON  (whoe  was  made  for  the  Bill)  his  consent 
will  be  a  greate  authority  amongst  us,  beinge  a  gentleman  of 
soe  great  wisdome  and  reputation,  &c.,  and  therefore  let  us 
be  assured  that  it  hath  his  approbation  and  noe  one  thinge 
will  more  availe  it  :    which  he  spake  to  prepare  a  reverent 
opinion  of  my  fathers  consent  which  he  did  indeed  beleeve 
had  beene  gotten.     Upon  this  SIR  DUDLEY  DIGGES,  whoe  had 
the  letter  in  his  hands,  and  was  desired  to  produce  it  when  he 
see  his  time,  stoode  upp,  and  bestowinge  many  woords  of 
honor  uppon  my  father,  concluded  with  SIR  FRANCIS  BACON 
that  his  opinion  might  uppon  good  reason  bee  of  greate  es- 
teeme  amongst  them  because  he  was  well  knowen  to  be  a  wise 
and  a  good  man,  and  to  understand  more  of  the  business  of 
that  greate  suite  for  CHENEY'S  lands  then  any  man  else  did. 
The  generall  expectation  beinge  thus  raysed  my  fathers  letter 
was  read,  which  makinge  a  summary  relation  of  the  goodnesse 
of  theire  title,  and  the  violence  and  injustnesse  of  theire  many 
vexations,  which  yett  had  brought  noe  manner  of  danger  to 


208  THE   ANCESTOR 

the  purchasers ;  delivered  in  the  conclusion  his  opinion  abso- 
lutely against   any   adition  of  strength  to  a  title  (though  it 
were  by  Act  of  Parliament)  which  had  already  the  best  asur- 
ance  that  law  and  equitie  could  give  it,  and  gave  some  reasons 
to  strengthen  that  opinion  ;   which  reasons  beinge  argued  at 
the  comittee  and  found  very  weightie,  the  bill  beinge  put  to 
the  question  was  clerely  cast,  and  soe  reported  to  the  Howse, 
where  it  ranne  the  same  fortune  ;  which  is  a  remarkable  con- 
sideration, that  the  power  of  those  reasons  which  his  letter 
conteyned,  cominge  from  soe  good  an  authority,  was  able  to 
overthrow  a  business  soe  well  laid,  soe  farre  advanced  and 
strenghtened  with  soe  great  freinds,  and  as  thinges  sorted  to 
his  reputation,  soe  was  his  life  made  happy  in  other  comforts, 
especially  in  that  of  constant  health ;    not  interrupted  with 
any,  so  much  as  ordinnari  sallies  of  sicknesse  ;  for  from  his 
age  of  14  till  hee  was  above  60  he  never  had  but  one  sick- 
nesse, and  that  neither  longe  nor  extreame.     But  aboute  one 
yeare  and  halfe  before  his  death,  which  happened  in  the  63rd 
yeare  of  his  age,  he  beganne  to  feele  some  declination  of  his 
former  health,  which  continued  till  the  time  of  his  death, 
with  some  little  weakness  and  distempers  which  by  often 
appearinge  and  attacking  him  in  such  manner  only  as  might 
well  be  reckoned  amongst  the  blessings  of  his  life  ;  for  it  gave 
him  almost  a  certaine  foreknowledg  and  fayer  warning  of  his 
death,  without  any  such  torment  of  sicknesse  as  myght  make 
his  life  grevious  unto  him,  of  which  he  made  a  right  and  true 
christaine   use,  by  preparinge  himselfe  for  the  life  to  come, 
to  w**  he  was  summoned  aboute  the  beginninge  of  December 
1610  by  a  sicknesse  somewhat  sharpe  at  the  first,  but  groweinge 
every  day  more  violent  till  the  day  of  his  death,  which  was  on 
the  loth  of  that  month,  which  sicknesse  he  bare  with  a  manly 
courage  and  christaine  patience,  and  that  time  which  he  could 
make  use  of  by  any  relaxation  of  his  extreamity  he  spent  in 
prayers,  and  in  grave  fatherly  and  wise  admonitions  and  per- 
swasions  of  love  and  peace  to  his  wife  and  children ;  havinge 
his  memory  and  speech  perfect  till  very  few  houres  before  his 
death,  and  soe  the  happinesse  that  accompanied  his  life  was 
crowned  with  the  perfection  of  all  happinesse,  in  the  blessed- 
nesse   of   his   death.     Presently  after  his  death  his  will  and 
other  disposalls  of  his  estate  beinge  looked  into,  there  ap- 
peared some  rocks  of  danger,  like  enough  to  have  wreacked  the 
peace  of  his  family,  but  it  pleased  God  that  his  effectuall 


SIR    FRANCIS    BARNHAM  209 

perswasions  of  peace  and  unity  to  his  wife  and  children  pre- 
vayled  soe  with  them  against  all  reasons  of  theire  perticuler 
benefitt  or  advantage,  as  that,  within  a  short  time  such  a 
peace  was  settled  amongst  all,  as  hath  continued  inviolate 
unto  this  day.  His  funerall  were  performed  (accordinge  to 
his  owne  directions)  without  any  serimonous  pompe  but  with 
soe  greate  a  confluence  of  gentlemen  of  the  best  and  second 
qualitie,  and  of  all  other  sorts  of  people  that  dwelt  neere  him, 
as  gave  a  full  expression  of  the  generall  respect  and  love  that 
was  borne  him  ;  for  a  more  particular  testimony  whereof  his 
body  was  carried  to  the  church  by  six  knights  and  gentlemen 
of  prime  quality,  who  gladly  offered  themselves  to  doe  that 
honour  to  his  ashes,  and  against  the  day  of  his  buriall  his 
tenannts  sent  in  above  700  fowlles  of  all  sorts  as  theire  last 
tribute  of  love  and  thankfullnesse  to  his  memory  and  meritt ; 
and  of  that  parte  of  his  funerall  sermon  made  by  DOCTOR 
BOYSE  which  represented  his  worth  and  vetrue  even  in  a  very 
transcendinge  degree,  it  was  yett  sayed  by  some  that  knewe 
and  could  judge  him  well,  that  those  prayses  might  fittley 
be  compared  to  a  picture  that  was  like,  but  not  so  well  as  the 
life,  to  which  censure  this  weake  expression  and  imperfect 
collection  of  myne  may  justly  be  more  liable. 

[While  going  through  and  sorting  a  very  considerable  number  of  old  deeds, 
letters  and  other  documents,  I  came  across  the  above  biography  written  in  a 
neat  clerk's  hand  in  a  sort  of  copy  book.  Among  the  above  mentioned  letters  are 
two  dated  in  1760  from  Sir  Thomas  Rider  to  Thomas  Barrett  Lennard,  Lord 
Dacre.  In  one  of  these  he  mentions  that  he  is  giving  to  the  latter  a  picture 
of  Margaret  Fynes,  Lady  Dacre,  who  married  in  the  sixteenth  century  Samson 
Lennard,  one  of  Lord  Dacre's  ancestor's,  and  this  letter  contains  an  extract 
from  the  above  life  of  Sir  Francis  Barnham. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  he  subsequently  had  the  whole  of  this  biography 
copied  for  Lord  Dacre.] 

T.  BARRETT  LENNARD. 


210  THE   ANCESTOR 

NOTES    FROM   THE   NETHERLANDS 

I.  THE  NOBILITY  OF  THE  NETHERLANDS 

BEFORE  entering  upon  the  subject  of  the  nobility  of  the 
Netherlands  let  us  be  assured  of  our  terminology. 
Confusion  begins  at  home  as  well  as  abroad  when  we  would 
speak  of  our  country.  '  The  Netherlands  '  we  say  in  our 
common  speech,  or  it  may  be  '  Holland,'  and  either  phrase 
will  go  well  enough  in  these  days  in  which  the  art  of  conver- 
sation is  as  little  in  esteem  and  as  rarely  practised  as  alchemy 
or  the  swaddling  of  mummies. 

Yet  let  it  be  understood  that  *  Holland '  in  the  mouth  of 
the  historian  should  signify  nothing  more  than  the  province 
of  that  name,  and  not  the  whole  land,1  a  distinction  which 
should  always  be  kept  when  one  would  speak  of  the  period 
before  the  setting  up  of  the  present  monarchy,  and  still  more 
when  one  is  dealing  with  those  middle  age's  when  the  pro- 
vinces differed  one  from  another  in  government  and  in  race. 

When  in  these  notes  I  shall  have  occasion  to  speak  of  the 
Netherlands  (de  Nederlanden)  it  will  be  seen  that  I  keep  that 
word  for  our  northern  kingdom,  giving  the  kingdom  of  Bel- 
gium its  own  name.  After  this  piece  of  needful  pedantry,  I 
will  approach  the  subject  of  the  first  of  my  notes,  which  shall 
treat  of  the  nobility  of  the  Netherlands. 

All  noblesse  having  been  abolished  by  the  revolution  of 
1795,  which  made  an  end  of  the  old  regime  and  of  the  govern- 
ment of  the  *  stadhouders,'  King  William  I.  revived  it  after 
the  reassertion  of  the  liberty  of  the  Netherlands  and  the  insti- 
tution of  constitutional  monarchy. 

One  of  the  articles  of  the  constitution  of  the  kingdom 
recites  that  the  king  gives  litres  de  noblesse.  These  are  in 
practice  given  by  the  king,  either  of  his  own  motion,2  which 
now  rarely  happens,3  or  upon  the  petition  of  the  person 
desirous  of  being  received  into  the  nobility. 

1  Napoleon  gave  his  sanction  to  the  popular  and  inaccurate  usage  when, 
under  the  French  dominion,  a  *  kingdom  of  Holland '  was  created. 

2  As  when  the  sovereign  gives  a  decoration  motu  proprio. 

3  A  few  personal  titles  of  which  we  shall  speak  later  should  go  into  this  cate- 
gory. 


THE  NETHERLANDS  211 

These  petitions  are  examined  by  a  council  called  the  Hooge 
Raad  van  Adel^  which  issues  favourable  or  unfavourable  reports 
thereon  and  submits  the  nominations  to  the  king. 

There  are  many  grounds  upon  which  the  postulant  may- 
rest  his  claim  to  being  received  as  a  noble.  He  may  be  (i.) 
brought  up  in  the  noblesse,  in  which  case  he  must  prove  that 
he  comes  of  a  family  which  has  held  for  many  generations  a 
position  in  the  magistrature  of  a  town.  He  may  prove  (ii.) 
that  his  family  belonged  to  the  recognized  nobility  of  the 
Netherlands  in  an  earlier  period.  He  may  ask  for  incorpor- 
ation (iii.)  when  his  family  is  of  a  foreign  and  noble  stock. 
There  are  other  pleas,  but  the  three  aforenamed  are  the  most 
frequent.  Titles  may  be  personal  or  hereditary.  Personal 
titles  are  very  rare,  an  example  being  found  in  the  Queen's 
consort,  who  on  his  marriage  with  the  Queen  was  made 
Prince  of  the  Netherlands. 

Hereditary  titles  in  their  order  are  prince,  count,  baron, 
knight  (ridder)  and  jonkheer. 

Princely  titles  are  few.  The  Duke  of  Wellington  was 
made  Prince  of  Waterloo  by  King  William  I.  after  his  victory, 
but  since  the  separation  of  the  Netherlands  and  Belgium,  the 
north  has  left  this  title  and  the  payment  of  any  accruing 
emoluments  to  the  care  of  the  southern  kingdom.  The 
princes  of  the  blood,  did  any  such  exist,  would  bear  the  title 
of  Princes  of  the  Netherlands,  and  the  Prince  Consort  is  now 
the  sole  possessor  of  this  rank. 

The  title  of  ridder  is  enjoyed  by  few,  and  there  are  few 
families  bearing  that  of  count — the  barons  and  jonkheeren 
make  the  bulk  of  our  titled  classes.  With  this  short  sketch  of 
the  position  of  our  nobility  I  will  direct  the  reader  to  a  little 
book  of  the  first  value  to  the  student  of  such  matters.1 

At  the  beginning  of  1903  a  few  genealogists8  put  forward 
the  Nederlands*  Adelsboek?  This  little  book  follows  the 
model  of  the  Gotha  and  the  English  peerages.  The  noble 
families  are  given  in  alphabetical  order.  A  notice  of  their 
origin  and  earlier  ancestors  is  followed  by  an  account  of  all 
living  members  of  the  family.  The  edition  of  1903  includes 

1  In  a  later  article  I  shall  speak  of  the  different  works  existing  upon  the 
nobility  of  the  Netherlands. 

a  MM.  Bijleveld,  Baron  Creutz,  Jhr.  Wittert  van  Hoogland,  Bloys  van 
Treslong  Prins,  Jhr.  de  Savornin  Lohman,  Jhr.  Hora  Siccama. 
Published  by  Stockum,  at  the  Hague. 


212  THE   ANCESTOR 

about  half  of  our  noble  houses,  and  the  volume  of  1904  will  deal 
with  the  other  half.  A  new  edition  will  follow  every  year. 
The  book  is  prettily  produced  and  has  a  portrait  of  the  pre- 
sident of  the  supreme  council  of  the  nobility,  Baron  Schim- 
melpenninck  van  der  Oye. 

In  the  volume  for  1903  I  find  these  following  families  of 
English  and  Scottish  origin,  with  the  notices  of  their  origin, 
which  having  been  carefully  compiled  deserve  the  attention 
and  the  corrections,  if  need  be,  of  genealogists. 

CLIFFORD 

From  Normandy.  This  family  is  said  to  begin  with 
Puntius  Clifford,  who  went  with  William  the  Conqueror  to 
England.  The  Netherlands  branch  descends  from  George 
Clifford,  who  came  to  Amsterdam  between  1634  anc^ 


LOUDON 

From  Scotland.  The  lineage  begins  with  Alexander 
Loudon,  who  came  to  the  island  of  Java  in  iSn^with  the 
English  fleet. 

MAC  KAY 

From  Scotland.  Begins  with  Odo  Mackay,  who  had  wide 
lands  in  Caithness  and  Sutherland  in  1499.  Donald  Mackay 
was  created  Lord  Reay  by  King  James  I.  in  1628,  which  title 
still  belongs  to  the  head  of  the  house. 

MELORT 

From  England.  Only  the  lineage  in  the  Netherlands  is 
given,  beginning  with  Andreas  Melort,  who  died  in  1757. 

MELVILL  VAN  CARNBEE 

From  Scotland.  The  family  begins  with  Richard  de 
Melvill,  named  in  1296.  His  son  Robert  acquired  the  barony 
of  Carnbee  in  Fife.  Sir  Andrew  Melvill  of  Carnbee  was 
knighted  by  Charles  II. 

VAN  PESTEL 

From  England.  The  family  begins  with  Thomas  Pestel, 
*  pasteur  de  la  cour  de  Henri  VIII.' 


THE   NETHERLANDS  213 

QUARLES 

From  Scotland.  Begins  with  William  Quarles,  lord  of 
the  barony  of  Quarles,  who  came  in  1420  from  Scotland  to 
Northamptonshire,  and  afterwards  married  Catharine  Ufford, 
of  the  family  of  the  Earls  of  Suffolk.  One  branch  bears  the 
name  of  Quarles  van  Ufford  and  the  other  of  Quarles  de 
Quarles.  These  last  should  have  adopted  the  name  after  the 
extinction  of  the  Quarles  family,  barons  of  Quarles  in  Eng- 
land. [Sic.  ED.] 

On  the  appearance  of  the  second  volume  I  shall  extract 
for  the  readers  of  the  Ancestor  the  families  there  to  be  found 
of  English  origin.  I  purpose  moreover  to  deal  with  certain 
English  families  dwelling  in  the  Netherlands,  who  are  not 
amongst  the  nobles,  and  with  the  families  from  the  Nether- 
lands now  established  in  England,  such  as  the  Bentincks  and 
the  Keppels. 

May  I  say  that  I  shall  willingly  receive  questions  from  the 
readers  of  the  Ancestor  upon  subjects  of  genealogical  interest 
concerning  the  Netherlands.  Where  I  can  aid  them  myself 
I  will  do  so,  and  in  any  case  I  shall  endeavour  to  direct  them 
to  persons  who  can  help  them  in  their  inquiries  and  researches. 
For  myself  I  shall  reserve  the  right  to  put  questions  in  my 
turn.  Let  me  give  a  hostage  for  my  good  intentions  by  asking 
the  first  question.  In  the  Ancestor  (vii.  252)  I  find  mention 
of  Thomas  de  Furnival,  lord  of  Sheffield,  at  the  end  of  the 
thirteenth  century. 

\..  In  a  charter  of  18  January  1225,  now  amongst  the  royal 
archives  at  the  Hague,  the  lord  Theodoricus  of  Wassenare *  is 
granted  in  fee  by  the  Count  of  Holland  the  land  *  quam 
acquisivi  a  filio  magistri  Rogeri  de  Fornival.' 

Has  this  Master  Roger  de  Fornival  any  kinship  with  the 
house  of  the  Furnivals  of  Sheffield  ?  As  his  name  indicates, 
this  Fornival  who  owned  lands  in  Holland  was  a  stranger  to 
the  country. 

H.  G.  A.  OBREEN. 
GAND,  BELGIQUE. 


1  I  have  published  in  1902  a  volume  upon  the  family  of  Wassenaer,  one  of 
the  oldest  in  Holland. 


2i4  THE   ANCESTOR 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE   AND    PRESCRIPTION 

IV 

HAVING  now  considered  the  views  of  some  of  the  earlier 
Heralds,  let  us  see  what  one  of  the  earliest  text-books 
has  to  say.     The  Book  of  St.  Albans  *  contains  much  curious 
information  on  our  subject. 

Merke  ye  wele  theys  questionys  here  now  folowyng  : 

Bot  now  to  a  question  I  will  precede,  and  that  is  thys :  Whethyr  th'armys 
of  the  grauntyng  of  a  prynce  or  of  other  lordys  ar  better  or  of  sych  dignyte  as 
armys  of  a  manis  [man's]  proper  auctorite  take,  when  that  it  is  leefull  [lawful]  to 
everi  nobullman  to  take  to  hym  armys  at  his  plesure.  For  the  wich  question 
it  is  to  be  knaw  that  iiij  maner  of  wyse  [ways]  we  have  armys. 

The  first  maner  of  wyse,  we  have  owre  awne  armis,  the  wiche  we  beer  of  owre 
fadyr  or  of  owre  modyr  or  of  owre  predycessoris,  the  wych  maner  of  beryng  is 
comune  and  famus  [i.e.  well  known],  in  the  wych  I  will  not  stonde  long,  for  the 
maner  is  best  provyt. 

The  secunde  maner,  we  have  armys  by  owre  merittys,  as  verey  playnly  it 
apperith  by  the  addicion  of  th'armys  of  Fraunce  to  th'armys  of  Englonde,  getyn 
by  that  moost  nobull  man  prynce  Edwarde,  the  firste  getyn  sone  of  kyng  Edwarde 
the  thride,  that  tyme  kyng  of  Englond,  after  the  takyng  of  kyng  John  of  Fraunce 
in  the  batell  of  Peyters.  The  wich  certan  addicion  was  leful  and  rightwysli 
doon ;  and  on  the  saame  maner  of  whyse  myght  a  poore  archer  have  take  a 
prynce,  or  sum  nobull  lorde,  and  so  th'armys  of  that  prysoner,  by  hym  so  take, 
rightwisly  he  may  put  to  hym  and  to  his  hayris. 

On  the  thride  maner  of  whise,  whe  have  armys  the  wich  we  beere  by  the 
grauntyng  of  a  prynce  or  of  sum  other  lordys. 

And  ye  most  knaw  that  thoos  armys  the  wych  we  have  of  the  grawntyng  of  a 
prynce  or  of  a  lorde  resayve  no  question  why  that  he  berith  thoos  same  ;  for  whi, 
the  prynce  wyll  not  [suffer]  that  sich  a  question  be  askyt,  whi  he  gave  to  any 
man  sych  an  armys,  as  it  is  playn  in  the  lawe  of  nature  and  civyll.  For  that  same 
that  pleses  ther  prynce  has  the  strength  of  law,  bot  if  [i.e.  unless]  any  man  bare 
thoos  armys  afore ;  for  that  thyng  the  wich  is  myne,  with  a  rightwys  tityll, 
withowte  deservyng  may  not  be  take  fro  me,  ner  the  prynce  may  not  do  hit 
rightwysly. 

The  faurith  [fourth]  maner  of  whise,  we  may  have  thoos  armys  the  wich  we 
take  on  owre  awne  propur  aucthorite,  as  in  theys  days  opynly  we  se  how  many 
poore  men,  by  thyr  grace,  favoure,  laboure  or  deservyng,  ar  made  nobuls.  .  \. 
And  of  theys  men,  mony  by  theyr  awne  autorite  have  take  armys,  to  be  borne 
to  theym  and  to  ther  hayris,  of  whoom  it  nedys  not  here  to  reherse  the  namys. 
Neverthelees,  armys  that  be  so  takyn  they  may  lefully  [lawfully]  and  freely  beer  ; 

1  It  is  now  generally  admitted  that  the  Heraldic  part  of  the  Book  of  St.  Albans 
is  translated  from  Nicholas  Upton. 

214 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE  215 

hot  yit  they  be  not  of  so  grete  dignyte  and  autorite  as  thoos  armys  the  wich  ar 
grauntyt  day  by  day  by  the  autorite  of  a  prince  or  of  a  lorde.  Yet  armys  bi  a 
mannys  propur  auctirote  taken,  if  an  other  man  have  not  borne  theym  afore,  be 
of  strength  enogh. 

And  it  is  the  opynyon  of  moni  men  that  an  herrod  [herald]  of  armis  may 
gyve  arrays.  Bot  I  say,  if  any  sych  armys  be  borne,  by  any  herrod  gyvyn,  that 
thoos  armys  be  of  no  more  auctorite  then  thoos  armys  the  which  be  take  by  a 
mannys  awne  auctorite.1 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  author  divides  arms  into  four 
classes,  in  a  descending  scale  of  *  dignyte  and  autorite.' 

1.  Arms  borne  by  descent. 

2.  Arms  borne  by  conquest. 

3.  Arms  granted  by  a  prince  or  lord. 

4.  Arms  assumed  by  the  bearer. 

The  writer  is  doubtful  as  to  the  power  of  a  herald  to  grant 
arms,  but  on  the  whole  seems  to  think  that  it  can  be  done. 

The  passage,  it  must  be  remembered,  was  written  when 
heraldry  was  still  a  living  thing,  before  the  foundation  of  the 
college,  and  probably  before  the  appointment  of  the  first 
Garter.3 

Not  only  did  men  assume  arms  of  their  own  *  propur 
auctorite,'  but  having  got  them,  they  looked  upon  them  as 
*  estates  of  inheritance  '  (as  Mr.  Phillimore  and  *  X  '  would 
put  it)  with  consequential  rights  of  assignment  or  conveyance 
by  deed  or  will.  It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  many  of  these 
documents  should  be  preserved,  being  private  and  unregistered 
muniments.  There  are  however  a  few  originals  known,  and 
copies  of  a  considerable  number,  mostly  made  by  heralds.  I 
have  not  noticed  in  any  of  these  cases  that  the  herald  made 
any  protest  against  this  assertion  of  right. 

I  propose  to  deal  with  these  private  assignments  and  with 
the  private  grants  by  *  prynces  or  sum  other  lordys  '  together, 
and  as  before  in  chronological  order.  Most  of  them  are  well 
known,  and  several  of  them  have  been  printed,  but  it  will  be 
useful  to  collect  them  here,  and  will  save  the  trouble  of  refer- 
ence to  other  books. 

The  earliest  in  point  of  date  is  recorded  in  the  Scrope  and 
Grosvenor  controversy. 

1  The  Third  Part  of  the  Boke  of  St.  Albans,  printed  from  the  original  edition 
in  1486  ;  London,  T.  Cadell ;  no  date. 

2  See  Ancestor,  i.  87.    Upton's  treatise  is  supposed  to  have  been  written  in 
1421  or  1422  ;  the  Book  was  published  in  1486  ;  the  first  Garter  was  appointed 
in  1446. 


2i 6  THE   ANCESTOR 

The  prior  of  Gisburgh  deposed  that  in  his  church  might 
be  found  the  arms  of  Scrope  in  a  glass  window,  azure, 
with  a  bend  gold  with  a  small  lioncel  purpure  at  the 
top  of  the  bend,  which  lioncel  was  granted  to  one  of  the 
Scropes  by  the  Earl  of  Lincoln,  for  term  of  the  life  of  the  said 
Scrope.1 

Henry  de  Lacy,  the  last  Earl  of  Lincoln  of  that  family, 
died  in  1311,  and  his  grant  must  therefore  have  been  very  early 
in  the  fourteenth  century,  if  indeed  not  late  thirteenth  cen- 
tury. His  arms  were  gold  with  a  purple  lion  ;  they  were 
adopted  as  part  of  the  arms  of  Lincoln's  Inn,  where  they  appear 
in  a  canton. 

1364.  A  tons  yceaux  qe  cestes  lettres  verrunt  ou  orront,  Thomas  le  fitz 
Mounsieur  Johan  de  Heronyll,  chivaler,  Salutz  en  Dieux.  Sachiez  moy  avoir 
don  et  graunte  a  Roger  de  Wyrley  un  esquechoun  d'armes  queill  j'avoy  par 
descent  apres  la  morte  Johan  moun  frere  ;  c'este  a  savoir,  1'esquchon  de  sable  ou 
deux  leouns  passaunz  de  argent,  coronez  et  unglez  de  or,  ou  un  floure  deliz  de 
azure  denz  le  piez  :  Avoir  et  tenier  a  dit  Roger  et  sez  heirs  a  touz  jours.  Et 
nous  et  nous  \sic\  heirs  1'avandit  esquechon  a  dit  Roger  et  sez  heirs  en  centre 
totes  gentz  garraunt.  En  tesmoignaunce  des  q'  choses,  a  cestes  escriptes  ay  meys 
moun  seal,  par  yceaux  tesmoignes  .  .  .  Escriptes  a  Westbromwyche,  le  Mardy 
prochain  avant  la  Chandelure,  Pan  de  Reigne  le  Roy  Edward  tierce  puys  Con- 
queste  trent  utisme.2 

f  •  J  Here  we  see  that  Sir  John  de  Heronyll  grants  a  coat  which 
descended  to  him  from  his  brother,  using  the  proper  convey- 
ancing terms,  *  give  and  grant,'  and  also  the  common  form  of 
general  warranty  against  all  men. 

1375,  April  5.  Sir  William  de  Aton  pere,  in  the  presence 
of  the  Sire  de  Percy,  challenged  Sir  Robert  de  Bointon  for 
these  arms  :  Gold  with  a  cross  of  sable  and  five  bulls'  heads 
\testes  de  boef]  of  silver  on  the  cross.  The  matter  was  referred 
to  the  judgment  of  Lord  Percy,  who  awarded  the  arms  to  Sir 
William  de  Aton,  come  chief  des  armes  entiers  et  droit  heriter 
dicelles.  Sir  William  thereupon  granted  to  Sir  Robert  and 
his  heirs  for  ever  the  right  to  use  the  challenged  arms  without 
impeachment  by  Sir  William  or  his  heirs.  The  parties  ex- 
changed indentures  to  this  effect.3 

The  interesting  point  here  is  that  Aton,  having  obtained 
a  judgment  or  declaration  of  his  rights  from  a  private  arbitrator, 

1  Scrope  and  Grosvenor  Roll,  ii.  278. 

2  Harl.  MSS.  1116,  fo.  2  ;  4630,  fo.  17. 

3  Ibid.  1178,  fo.  44  ;   Yorkshire  Arch.  Journal,  xii.  263. 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE  217 

grants  a  licence  to  Bointon  and  his  heirs  to  use  the  challenged 
arms. 

1378.  A  tous  ceulx  que  cestes  lettres  veront  et  orront,  nous,  Hughe  de 
Calveleghe,  chivaler,  John  de  Burley,  chivaler,  John  Devereux,  chivaler,  Urian 
de  Stapelton,  chivaler,  et  Rauffe  de  Statum,  esq.,  Salus  en  Dieu.  Com  il  y  a  en 
certaine  place  devant  les  Conestable  et  Marshall,  parentre  Monsr  John  de 
Massy  de  Tatton,  poursuyvant  [plaintiff],  et  Monsr  John  de  Massy  de  Potington, 
defendant,  pour  les  armes — Quaterles  d'or  et  de  gueles  a  un  lion  passant  argent 
en  le  premir  quater  de  gueles  ;  et  le  diet  plee  soit  continue  tant  que  les  ditz 
parties  avoient  plede,  juspres  a  jour  paremptorie  de  porter  les  evidences  de  1'un 
parte  et  1'autre,  a  prover  leur  entent,  selon  ceo  que  a  chascun  part  apartient 
le  quel  dcs  ditz  averoit  melljour  droit  aux  ditz  armes.  Surquy  nous,  pour 
bonnes  consideracions,  et  aussi  pour  eschuer  les  grandes  damages  que  porroit 
advenir  a  cause  du  dite  pie,  et  debat  que  porroit  surdre  si  remedie  ne  fuit  mis  par 
mediators  entre  les  ditz  parties,  avons  trete  entre  eulx,  tant  que  les  ditz  parties 
sont  consentes  par  leur  fathes  [?  faites]  d'estre  a  nostre  regard  ;  Sur  quoy  pour 
bon  deliberacion  et  advis  des  nobles  et  sages  chivalers  du  reaulme,  avons  agarde 
a  Monsr  John  de  Massye  de  Potington,  defendant,  de  porter  les  armes  que 
Tho.  Massy  son  aieul  jadis  porta,  c'estassavoir, — d'or  et  de  gules  quaterles,  a 
trois  fleurs-de-lys  d'argent  en  les  quaters  de  gueles  ;  et  Monsr.  John  Massy  de 
Tatton,  pursuyvant,  les  armes — quaterles,  a  trois  scalops  d'argent  en  les  quartiers 
de  gueles.  Et  aultre  ceo,  [nous]  avons  agarde  que  nulle  de  les  ditz  parties  por- 
teront  les  armes  que  fuerunt  en  debate,  en  nulle  aultre  maniere  forsque  en  ceste 
manier  come  nous  avons  ordeigne  entre  cube.  En  testmoignance  du  quel  chose, 
nous  avons  mis  nous  seaux.  Donne  a  Glouster,  le  14°  jour  de  Novembre,  1'an 
du  Reygne  nostre  Sr  le  Roy  Richard  2d.  puis  le  Conqueste,  2  me.1 

Here  we  have  a  very  full  account  of  a  dispute  between  two 
members  of  the  ancient  Cheshire  family  of  Massey.  John  of 
Tatton  had  complained  to  the  constable  and  marshal  that 
John  of  Potington  was  using  his  arms.  The  parties  had 
pleaded,  and  a  day  was  fixed  for  taking  evidence.  Thereupon, 
to  avoid  expense  and  further  dispute,  the  two  Masseys  sub- 
mitted to  the  arbitration  of  four  knights  and  one  esquire,  and 
bound  themselves  by  deed  to  observe  the  award.  The  arbi- 
trators consulted  certain  noble  and  wise  knights  of  the  realm, 
and  decided  that  neither  of  the  claimants  should  bear  the 
challenged  arms  ;  to  John  of  Potington  they  awarded  the 
arms  borne  by  his  grandfather,  while  for  John  of  Tatton  they 
appear  to  have  devised  an  entirely  new  difference. 

1391.  A  tous  ceux  que  ceste  presente  lettre  verront  ou  orront,  Thomas 
Grendale  de  Fenton,  cousin  et  heir  a  John  Beaumeys,  jadis  de  Sautre,  Salutz  in 
Dieu.  Come  les  armes  d'auncestrie  du  dit  Johane  apres  le  jour  de  son  moriant 
soient  par  loy  et  droit  d'heritage  a  moy  eschaietz,  come  a  son  prochein  heir  de 
sonjynage,  Sachetz  moy  1'avant  dit  Thomas  avoir  donnee  et  grauntee  par  icestes  les 

1  Harl.  MSS.  1178,  fo.  44b  ;  1424,  fo.  98  ;  1507,  fo.  201. 


2i8  THE   ANCESTOR 

entiers  avantdites  armes  ou  leur  appertenauntz  a  Will™  Moigne,  chivaler ;  queles 
armes  cestascavoir  sont  d'argent  oue  une  crois  d'asure  ou  cinque  garbes  d'or  en 
le  crois  ;  a  avoir  et  tenir  touz  lez  avantdites  armes  oue  leur  appertenantz  au  dit 
Monsr  Will™  et  a  ces  heirs  et  assignes  a  tous  jours.  En  tesmoignance  de  quele 
chose  a  cestez  presentes  lettres  jay  mys  mon  sael.  Donne  a  Sautre,  le  vint- 
seconde  jour  de  November,  Pan  du  regne  le  Roy  Richard  seconde  quinzisme.1 

In  this  case  we  again  have  a  conveyance,  pure  and  simple. 
Thomas  Grendale  has  inherited  certain  arms  from  John  Beau- 
meys,  which  he  gives  and  grants  to  Sir  William  Moigne,  his 
heirs  and  assigns.  The  use  of  the  word  assigns  should  be 
specially  noted  ;  it  seems  to  imply  that  Moigne  may  in  turn 
convey  the  arms  to  whom  he  pleases  without  any  interference 
by  Grendale. 

1397.  A  toutz  ceux  ycestes  lettres  verront  ou  orront,  Johan  de  Whelles- 
brough,  salutz  en  Dieu.  Sachetz  comme  Thomas  Purefey  eit  la  reversion  de 
manners  de  Fenney  Drayton  et  Whellesbrough  en  la  Counte  de  Leicestre  oue  les 
apurtenances,  moi,  le  dit  Johan  aver  done  et  graunte  par  icest  au  dit  Thomas 
Purefey  et  ses  heyres  et  en  mesme  le  manere,  mes  arms  oue  les  appurtenances 
ey  entierment  come  moy  ou  mes  ancesters  avoions  u ;  a  aver  et  tener  les 
armes  oue  les  appurtenances  subdit  a  dit  Thomas,  ces  heires  et  ces  assignes,  come 
desuis  est  dit,  a  touts  jours,  sans  impeachment  de  mes  heires  .  .  .  Et  jeo  oblige 
moi  et  mes  heires  a  garanter  lez  ditz  arms  oue  les  appurtenances  au  dit  Thomas 
Purefey,  cez  heires  et  cez  assignes,  a  touts  jours.  Et  en  tesmoignance  de  quels 
choses  a  cestes  lettres  jeo  ay  mise  mon  scale  des  arms  subditz,  cestes  tesmoignes, 
Mons.  Johan  de  Clinton,  Mons.  Wm  de  Astley,  chivalers,  .  .  .  et  autres. 
Donne  a  Fenny  Drayton  subditz,  en  la  feste  de  Saint  Jake  1' Apostle,  Pan  le  reign 
du  Roy  Richard  le  seconde  puis  le  conquest  le  vintisme  primer.2 

Here  again  is  an  ordinary  conveyance,  and  as  in  the  last 
case,  the  grant  is  to  the  heirs  and  assigns  ;  but  there  is  the 
addition  that  the  grantor  and  his  heirs  will  warrant  to  the 
grantee,  his  heirs  and  assigns. 

By  a  deed  dated  12  March  1404,  William  Haywode  of 
Strathfieldsay,  esq.,  conveyed  to  John  Fromond,  his  heirs 
and  assigns,  the  manor  of  Haywode  in  Strathfieldsay,  together 
with  a  coat  of  arms. 

*  which  arms  appertain  to  the  lands  and  tenements  aforesaid,  and  which  arms 
I  have  used  and  borne  before  this  time  by  reason  of  the  right  to  the  lands  and 
tenements  aforesaid ' ;  and  he  releases  and  quitclaims  the  lands  and  the  arms, 

*  so  that  I,  ...  my  heirs  and  assigns,  cannot  have  or  claim  any  right,  title,  or 
claim  thereto  in  time  to  come.'  3 

1  Harl.  MS.  ii78,fo.42d. 

2  Mus  Brit.,  Add.  MS.  6297,  fo.  218. 

3  Ibid.  Add.  Ch.  36,987.     See  also  Journal  of  the  British  Archeeological 
Association,  1891,  p.  323,  where  the  document  will  be  found  in  full,  with  some 
notes  by  Dr.  W.  de  Gray  Birch. 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE  219 

This  does  not  differ  materially  from  the  previous  examples, 
save  in  the  curious  recital  that  Haywode's  title  to  the  arms 
was  by  right  of  ownership  of  the  manor  of  Haywode.  It 
would  be  interesting  to  trace  the  earlier  history  of  the  manor. 

1404.  A  tons  ceulx  qui  ces  lettres  verront  ou  orront,  Johan  Tochet,  Sire 
d'Audeley,  salus.  Savoir  vous  faisons  que  nous  per  consideration  que  nos 
eschiers  et  bienamez  Johan  Macworth  et  Thomas  Macworth  son  frere  sont 
estraitz  de  et  vaillants  gens,  et  aussi  pour  le  bon  service  que  leurs  ancestres  ont 
fait  a  noz  ancestres  nous  voudrions  leement  fere  que  purroit  honurer  et  avancer 
leurs  estats,  si  avons  en  avancement  et  honnour  des  estatz  des  ditz  Johan  et 
Thomas  lour  donne  parcelle  de  nos  armes  d'Audeley  et  de  Tochet ;  avoir  et 
porter  ovec  certeins  differences,  come  piert  per  un  escocheon  dessoubs  paintz, 
les  colours  sable  et  ermeyn  partez  et  endentez  ovec  un  cheveron  de  goules  frettez 
d'or  et  les  armes  d'Audeley  ;  et  un  creste,  cestassavoir,  une  eele,  q'este  parcelle 
de  nostre  creste  d'Audeley,  de  quele  ele  les  plumes  serront  des  colours  de  sable 
et  d'ermeyn.  A  avoir  et  porter  les  dites  armes,  ovec  autielx  differenes  come 
lour  semble  mieux  affaire  hors  de  mesme  les  armes,  a  eulx  et  a  lour  heires,  de 
nous  et  de  nos  heirs  pur  tous  jours,  sanz  empeschement  de  nous  ou  de  noz 
heirs  q'conque  pur  le  temps  avenir.  En  tesmoignance  de  quele  chose,  aicestes 
noz  presentes  lettres  nous  avons  fait  mettre  nostre  seal.  Donne  soubz  nostre 
manoir  de  Marketon,  le  primer  jour  d' August,  1'an  du  grace  mile  quatre  centz 
quart.1 

Here  we  have  not  a  transfer  of  existing  arms,  but  a  grant 
of  a  newly  devised  coat,  exactly  on  all  fours  with  a  grant  by 
a  herald.  Lord  Audley,  wishing  to  honour  his  two  esquires, 
John  and  Thomas  Macworth,  devises  for  them  a  coat  com- 
pounded of  his  own  quartered  arms  of  Touchet  and  Audley. 
It  is  a  pretty  variation  of  principle  :  if  a  man  can  assign  the 
whole,  he  can  assign  the  part.  We  have  seen  that  the  Earl  of 
Lincoln  passed  his  purple  lion  to  a  Scrope.  Lord  Audley's 
grant  was  much  more  artistic.  He  includes  also  a  crest, 
*  parcel  of  our  crest  of  Audley,'  and  grants  the  arms  and  crest 
'  to  hold  of  us  and  our  heirs  for  ever.'  But  perhaps  the  most 
remarkable  point  in  this  very  interesting  document  is  that 
relating  to  the  differencing  of  the  coat  as  between  the  two 
brothers  :  the  arms  are  granted  to  them  both,  to  be  borne 
with  such  differences  as  they  may  choose  to  arrange. 

1422.  Sciant  presentes  et  futuri  quod  ego,  Thomas  de  Clanvowe,  chivaler, 
dedi,  concessi,  et  hac  presenti  carta  mea  confirmavi  Willelmo  Criktot,  consan- 
guineo  meo,  arma  mea  et  jus  eadem  gerendi  quae  mihi  jure  haereditario  descend- 
erunt ;  Habenda  et  tenenda  praedicta  arma  mea  et  jus  eadem  gerendi  praefato 
Willelmo,  haeredibus  et  assignatis  suis,  absque  reclamatione  mei  vel  haeredum 

1  Harleian  MS.  1410,  fo.  43. 


220  THE    ANCESTOR 

meorum  imperpetuum.  Et  ego,  praedictus  Thomas  et  hseredes  mei  prasdicta 
arma  et  jus  eadem  gerendi  praefato  Willelmo,  haeredibus  et  assignatis  suis,  contra 
omnes  gentes  warantizabimus  imperpetuum.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  present! 
cartae  mei  sigillum  meum  opposui.  Datum  apud  Hergast,  in  festo  Corporis 
Christi,  anno  regni  Regis  Henrici  quinti  post  conquestum  undecimo.1 

There  is  some  mistake  in  the  date  of  this  copy,  for  Henry  V. 
died  in  his  tenth  regnal  year.  Corpus  Christi  day,  10  Henry  V., 
would  fall  in  1422.  If  the  error  is  in  the  royal  number,  we 
have  the  choice  of  1410,  II  Henry  IV.,  or  1433,  II  Henry  VI. 
The  grant  follows  the  usual  conveyancing  form,  with  two 
variations  :  it  includes  not  merely  the  arms,  but  the  right  of 
bearing  them,  a  fine  legal  distinction  ;  and  it  is  expressed  to 
be  *  without  reclaim  by  me  or  my  heirs.'  Assigns  are  men- 
tioned, and  there  is  a  general  warranty  against  all  men. 

1436.  Noverint  universi  per  presentes  me,  Joannam  nuper  uxorem  Wil- 
lelmi  Lee  de  Knightley,  dominam  et  rectam  heredem  de  Knightley,  dedisse, 
concessisse,  et  hac  present!  carta  mea  confirmasse  Ricardo  Peshale,  filio  Humfridi 
Peshale,  scutum  armorum  meorum ;  Habendum  et  tenendum  ac  portandum 
et  utendum  ubicunque  voluerit  sibi  et  heredibus  suis  imperpetuum ;  Ita  quod 
nee  ego  nee  aliquis  alius  nomine  meo  aliquod  jus  vel  clameum  seu  calumpniam 
in  predicto  scuto  habere  potuerimus,  sed  per  presentes  sumus  exclusi  imper- 
petuum. In  cujus  rei  testimonium  sigillum  meum  apposui.  Datum  apud 
Knightley,  die  Mercurii  proxima  post  festum  Paschae,  anno  regni  Regis  Henrici 
sexti  post  conquestum  quarto-decimo.1 

This  grant  by  the  Lady  of  Knightley  is  probably  the  best- 
known  of  all  such  cases.2  It  differs  from  those  already  printed 
chiefly  in  what  may  be  called  the  renunciation  clause,  which 
is  very  full :  (  so  that  neither  I,  nor  any  other  in  my  name, 
may  have  any  right,  claim  or  challenge  to  the  said  shield,  but 
that  we,  by  these  presents,  may  be  for  ever  excluded.'  This 
is  the  common-form  clause  in  a  release  of  rights  to  real  pro- 
perty. 

1442.  Humfrey,  Counte  de  Stafford  et  de  Perch,  Seignour  de  Tunbrigg 
et  de  Caux.  a  toutz  ceux  qui  cestes  presentes  littres  verrount  ou  orrount,  Salutz. 
Saches  que  nous,  considerans  les  merites  que  deyuent  estre  attribues  a  toutes 
persones  issues  de  bone  lien  et  exersauntez  bones  moures  et  vertues  eaux  con- 
duysantz  termes  d'onneur  et  gentilesse  ycelle  a  consideration  nous  a  move 
d'augmenter  en  honneur  et  noblesse  noble  home  Robert  Whitgreve,  et  luy  avoy 
donne  et  donnontz  par  icestes  presentes  pour  memorie  d'onnour  perpetuel,  a 
portre  ses  armes  en  signe  de  noblesse  un  escu  d'asure  a  quatre  pointz  d'or, 
quatre  cheverons  de  gueles,  et  luy  de  porter  as  autres  persons  nobles  de  son 
linage  en  descent  avecques  les  differences  de  descent  au  dit  blazon,  et  pour  de 

1  Harleian  MS.  1178,  fo.  45.  *  See  Ancestor y  ii.  4. 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE  221 

tout  armoyer  et  revesture  son  dit  blazon  et  en  honeur  le  repaver  a  nouz  avecque 
celuy  ordonne,  et  attribus  heaulme  et  timbre,  cestassavoir,  le  healme  en  mantelle 
de  bloy  furrey  d'ermines,  au  une  coronne  de  gules  assis  sur  le  dit  heaulme,  en 
dedins  la  coronne  une  demy  antelope  d'or.  Et  pour  ceste  nostre  lettre  patent 
de  dit  donne  verifier  en  testemoigne  la  nous  fait  sceler  du  scele  de  nous  proppres 
armes,  le  xiij  jour  d'Agust,  Tan  du  raigne  le  Roy  H.  sisme  puis  le  conquest 
vicessime.1 

The  earl's  recital  is  strongly  suggestive  of  the  long  pre- 
amble beloved  of  the  Elizabethan  and  later  heralds.  The 
description  of  the  shield  is  curious  ;  the  tricking  shows  a  cross 
with  a  chevron  in  each  quarter.  The  grant  even  prescribes 
the  mantling,  which,  as  in  so  many  early  cases,  does  not  follow 
the  rule  laid  down  by  later  heralds. 

1568.  George  Bullock, '  late  Mr.  Conner  over  the  companye  of  the  Ordin- 
arye  Gonners '  of  Berwick-on-Tweed,  made  his  will  on  13  June,  1568.  By  it 
he  granted  and  freely  gave  to  his  son-in-law,  Rowland  Johnson,  gentleman, 
*  the  Mr.  Mayson  and  Surveyor  of  the  Quene's  Majeste's  workes  there  :  an  armes, 
whiche  ys  two  speres,  the  one  broken  and  the  other  hole,  with  certayne  moore- 
cockes  standinge  in  a  shielde,  which  sheilde  ys  th'one  halfe  blacke  and  the  other 
half  blewe ;  the  helmet  blewe,  mantyled  white  and  black,  with  twoe  yellow 
tassells  lyke  gold  at  the  endes ;  whiche  armes  was  wonne  by  the  sayde  George 
Bullocke  xxviij*'  yeres  sence,  of  a  Scottishe  gentilman,  one  of  the  house  of  Cock- 
burne.  And  nowe  the  sayde  George  Bullocke  by  that  his  sayde  last  will  and 
testamente  dothe  frelye  gyve  and  surrender  over  the  same  armes  unto  his  sayde 
sonne  in  lawe  .  .  .  for  to  gyve  or  use  yt  in  everye  condicion  as  lardgelye  and  as 
amplye  as  the  sayde  George  Bullock  might  or  owghte  to  have  gyven  yt  in  his 
lyfe  time.' 2 

Tong,  in  his  visitation  of  Lancashire,  1532-9,  records  a 
somewhat  similar  case  : — 

Mark  that  the  sayd  Master  Asheton  at  the  Scottysh  felde  tooke  a  prysoner, 
whose  name  was  Sir  John  Forman,  Serjeant  Porter  to  the  Scottysh  King ;  and 
also  he  tooke  Alexander  Bunne,  Sheriff  of  Aberdyne ;  which  two  prisoners  he 
delivered  to  my  Lord  of  Norfolke  that  now  ys,  to  know  how  he  shall  bear  ther 
armes.3 

In  this  case  and  the  last  we  have  examples  of  arms  of  con- 
quest, where  *  a  poore  archer  have  take  a  prince  or  sum  noble 
lorde,  and  so  th'armys  of  that  prysoner  ...  he  may  put  to 
hym  and  his  hayris.'  The  prisoners  of  Master  Assheton  were 

1  Harleian  MSS.  1439,  fo.  l8d  ;  4630,  fo.  16. 

2  Mus.  Brit.,  Add.  Ch.  19,882.     See  also  Journal  of  the  British  Archaeological 
Association,  1891,  p.  326,  where  the  document  is  printed  in  full  by  Dr.  W.  de 
Gray  Birch. 

3  Dallaway's  Inquiries,  316. 

P 


222  THE   ANCESTOR 

not  of  noble  rank,  nor  was  their  captor  a  poor  archer,  but  the 
head  of  an  ancient  Lancashire  house.  The  Scotch  war  ap- 
parently refers  to  the  Flodden  campaign. 

1654-5.  Edwardus,  Marchio  et  Comes  Wigorniae,  Baro  Herbert  de  Chep- 
stow,  Raglan  et  Gower,  omnibus  ad  quos  presentes  literae  nostrae  pervenerint, 
salutem.  Sciatis  quod  quum  Thomas  Bayly,  armiger,  ob  id  quod  de  nostra 
familia  semper  est  optime  meritus,  non  minori  virtute  quam  sincera  fide,  et 
omni  genere  obsequiorum,  et  potissimum  ob  res  ab  eo  tarn  prseclare  et  strenue 
gestas  in  obsidione  Arcis  Raglan,  domus  patris  mei  (tune  Imperatoris  exercitum 
Meridionalis  Walliae)  ab  eodem  per  literas  patentes  authoritate  plena  equitum 
colonellus  sancitus  est,  atque  ego  modo  multis  in  rebus  dictum  Thomam  sibi 
semper  similem  expertus,  licet  aliud  mihi  nihil  integrum  habeam  quo  constan- 
tiam  tantam  compensem  et  justae  ipsius  expectationi  faciam  satis,' ne  ingratus 
videar ;  Omnibus  ad  quos  ullo  pacto  spectabit  et  praecipue  Reipublice  hujus 
Angliae  Faecialibus  et  Heraldis,  declaro  et  per  hunc  meum  proprium  et  spon- 
taneum  actum,  permitto,  concedo  et  dono  dicto  Thomae  Bayly  et  suis  deinceps 
haeredibus,  ut  perpetuo  scribant  et  divisim  gerant  in  suis  armorum  scutis  cristam 
meam  (et  majorum  meorum)  propriam  nimirum  rostrum  militare  sive  catarac- 
tam  auream,  coronatam  [corona]  Marcionis,  in  campo  rubeo,  sicut  in  margine 
depingitur,  ac  ut  hoc  honoris  insigne  in  eum  ejusque  posteros  semper  continu- 
«ntur  volo.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  has  literas  nostras  fieri  fecimus  patentes. 
Datas  apud  Westmonasterium,  26'°  die  Februarii,  I654.1 

1656.  Edwardus,  Marchio  et  Comes  Wigorniae  et  Glamorgan,  Vicecomes 
Grosmont  et  Caldicott,  Baro  Herbert  de  Chepstow,  Ragland  et  Gower,  et 
praenobilis  Ordinis  Garterii  miles,  omnibus  ad  quos  praesentes  litterae  nostrae 
pervenerint.  Sciatis  quod  cum  Ludovicus  Morgan  de  Societate  Grayensi, 
armiger,  ob  id  quod  non  minore  virtute  quam  sincera  fide,  et  omni  genere 
obsequiorum  optime  meritus,  atque  ego  modo  multis  in  rebus  dictum  Ludovicum 
sibi  semper  similem  expertus  ;  licet  aliud  mihi  nihil  integrum  habeam  quo  con- 
stantiam  tantam  compensam  et  justae  ipsius  expectationi  faciam  satis,  ne  in- 
gratus videar ;  omnibus  ad  quos  ullo  pacto  spectabit,  et  maxime  praecipue 
Reipublicae  hujus  Angliae  Faecialibus  et  Heraldis  declaro,  et  per  hunc  meum 
proprium  et  spontaneum  actum  permitto,  concedo  et  dono  dicto  Ludovico,  et 
suis  deinceps  haeredibus,  ut  perpetuo  scribant  et  divisim  gerant  in  suis  armorum 
scutis  cristam  meam  et  majorum  meorum  propriam,  nimirum  rostrum  militare 
sive  cataractam  auream,  coronatam  corona  Marchionis,  in  campo  rubeo,  sicut 
in  margine  depingitur ;  Ac  ut  hoc  honoris  insigne  in  eum  ejusque  posteros 
semper  continuetur,  volo.  In  cujus  rei  testimonium  has  litteras  nostras  fieri 
fecimus  patentes,  Datas  apud  Westmonasterium,  tertio  die  Julii,  l6$6? 

The  most  remarkable  point  about  these  two  documents 
is  the  date.  It  might  have  been  objected  that  the  practice 
of  private  grants  had  become  obsolete  with  the  foundation  of 
the  college,  but  here  are  two  cases  170  years  after  Richard  III.'s 
ineffective  foundation  in  1484,  and  a  century  after  the  real 
incorporation  in  1555. 

Harleian  MS.  1470,  fo.  246.  2  Ibid.  fo.  48. 


HERALDS'    COLLEGE  223 

But,  it  may  be  urged,  both  these  self-styled  grants  are 
during  the  Commonwealth,  when  there  was  no  king,  no  earl 
marshal,  when  Garter  himself  was  one  usurper  appointed  by 
another.  The  answer  to  this  is  supplied  by  Mr.  Phillimore. 

*  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  (he  writes)  that  even  the  turbulent 
period  of  the  great  rebellion  saw  no  disturbance  of  the  officers 
of  arms,  who  pursued  the  duties  of  their  office  with  perfect 
equanimity  under  Cromwell  and  Charles  alike.' i 

The  equanimity  of  Sir  Edward  Walker,  Dugdale,  and  the 
other  dispossessed  heralds  is  perhaps  open  to  question,  but  the 
passage  quoted  states  the  undoubted  fact  that  the  college 
seems  to  have  gone  on  during  the  Commonwealth  period  with 
practically  no  change  except  in  the  person  of  some  of  its 
officers. 

Note  that  the  marquis  boldly  addressed  *  all  whom  it  may 
in  any  way  concern,  and  most  especially  the  Poursuivants  and 
Heralds  of  this  Republic  of  England.'  This  is  either  a  tacit 
statement  that  the  heralds  were  bound  to  admit  as  of  course 
the  right  of  the  marquis  to  make  the  grant,  and  its  validity 
when  made,  or  it  is  the  merest  bravado.  And  this  leads  us  to 
what  is  the  real  significance  of  these  two  grants.  The  govern- 
ment may  have  been  a  republic,  and  Garter  may  have  been 

*  bogus,'  but  the  Marquis  of  Worcester  was  an  '  armigerous 
gent '  of  some  considerable  social  position.     Edward  Somerset, 
second  Marquis  and  sixth  Earl  of  Worcester,  was  born  in  1601, 
and  succeeded  his  father  in  1646.     A  zealous  royalist,  he  was 
imprisoned  in   the  Tower  from  July  1652  to  October  1654, 
and  his  property  was  sequestered.     This  explains  his  pathetic 
statement  that  he  has  no  means  of  making  a  recompence  to  his 
two  faithful  followers  in  any  way  worthy  of  their  merits,  but 
not  wishing  to  seem  ungrateful,  he  grants  them  an  ensign  of 
honour  to  be  handed  down  to  their  descendants.     His  son 
Henry  was  created  Duke  of  Beaufort  in  1682. 

His  grandfather,  Edward,  Earl  of  Worcester,  had  been  one 
of  the  commissioners  for  executing  the  office  of  earl  marshal 
in  1604  and  1617.  Such  a  man,  we  may  conceive,  was  hardly 
likely  to  go  through  the  farce  of  making  these  two  grants  if  he 
knew  that  they  were  illegal  and  ineffectual.  We  may  there- 
fore take  it  that  he,  rightly  or  wrongly,  thought  he  had  full 
power  to  grant  a  part  of  his  arms  to  his  two  friends. 

*  Herddi'  College  and  Coats-oj-drms,  p.  4. 


224  THE   ANCESTOR 

We  thus  see  that  well  down  to  Dugdale's  time  l  the  old 
practice  of  '  every  man  his  own  herald  '  was  not  entirely 
obsolete  ;  and  that  the  right  of  assumption  and  prescription, 
recognized  by  the  heralds,  still  retained  its  ancient  corollary 
of  the  right  of  grant  or  conveyance. 


1  Dugdale's  first  heraldic  appointment  was  as  Blanch  Lyon   Poursuivant 
Extraordinary  in  1638. 


W.  PALEY  BAILDON. 


THE   CURWENS    OF    WORKINGTON1 

THE  name  and  arms  of  Curwen,  with  the  lands  of  Work- 
ington,  were  carried  by  marriage  in  1782  to  Christian 
of  Ewanrigg,  a  descendant  of  the  Christians  of  the  Isle  of  Man. 
From  this  match  come  the  present  Curwetis  of  Workington, 
the  representatives  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  knightly  families 
in  Cumberland,  for  a  memorial  of  whom  Mr.  John  F.  Curwen 
of  Kendal,  corresponding  secretary  of  the  Cumberland  and 
Westmorland  Antiquarian  Society  and  a  Curwen  of  the  male 
line,  is  editing  the  annotated  pedigree  of  which  two  parts 
out  of  four  lie  before  us. 

The  stout  paper  and  clear  type  of  this  pedigree  give  it  a 
pleasant  air  of  permanence  which  even  the  ornamental  initials, 
beloved  of  the  local  printer,  do  not  weaken.  The  narrative 
is  clearly  arranged,  and  the  chart  pedigrees,  although  on  fold- 
ing sheets,  do  not  tear  at  the  first  or  second  handling. 

That  the  history  of  so  ancient  a  family  should  begin  with 
a  charter  rather  than  a  legend  is  a  good  omen,  and  with  Ketel 
son  of  Eltred  we  begin,  which  Ketel  gives  to  the  monks  of 
St.  Mary  of  York  the  church  of  Morlund  and  the  church  of 
Wirchington,  with  land  in  Wirchington.  He  names  his  father 
Eltred,  his  wife  Christian,  and  William  his  son,  so  that  we  have 
good  material  for  choosing  out  our  Ketel  from  amongst  the 
many  other  Ketels  of  the  north.  To  the  foundation  charter 
of  Wetherhal  Priory  he  was  a  witness,  at  a  date  reckoned  as 
being  between  the  years  1092  and  1112.  His  lands  were  in 
Westmorland  and  Cumberland,  and  an  inspeximus  of  Ed- 
ward I.  recites  his  gift  of  land  in  Kirkby  Kendal  to  the  hos- 
pital of  St.  Peter  of  York. 

The  Curwens  gave  freely  to  holy  church,  and  this  open- 
handedness  affords  such  help  to  the  searcher  after  their  history 
that  the  pedigree  of  the  family  may  be  pieced  together  with 
singular  ease.  Orm,the  son  of  Ketel,  married  Gunhild,  sister 
of  Waltheof  of  Allerdale,  who  as  Waltheof,  son  of  Earl  Gos- 
patrick  (of  Dunbar),  is  said  to  have  given  Seaton,  Camerton, 
Flimby  and  Greysouthen  with  Gunhild  his  sister  to  Orm,  son 
of  Ketel. 

1  The  Curwen  Pedigree,  by  John  F.  Cunven  of  Kendal.     Parts  I.  and  II. 


225 


226  THE   ANCESTOR 

Gospatrick,  son  of  Orm,  commemorated  this  marriage  in 
his  name,  and  was  a  benefactor  of  Holme  Cultram.  He  was 
the  first  of  the  Curwen  lords  of  Workington,  which  he  had 
with  Lamplugh  of  William  of  Lancaster  in  exchange  for 
Middleton  in  Westmorland,  as  appears  by  a  deed  which  is  still 
at  Workington  Hall.  When  William  the  Lion  rode  through 
Cumberland  in  1174  Gospatrick,  son  of  Orm,  an  aged  English- 
man, yielded  Appleby  Castle,  of  which  he  was  constable,  to« 
the  Scottish  king.  He  is  said  to  have  died  in  1179,  a  date  for 
which  no  evidence  is  quoted. 

The  pious  gifts  of  Thomas,  son  of  Gospatrick,  are  recorded 
in  more  than  one  page  of  the  Monasticon,  the  Premonstratensian 
canons  being  chosen  out  for  especial  generosity.  Lamplugh 
he  granted  away  to  Robert  of  Lamplugh,  who  was  to  render 
the  pair  of  gilt  spurs  yearly  which  Thomas  owed  to  William  of 
Lancaster.  And  here  we  are  stayed  by  Mr.  Curwen's  amazing 
comment  that  '  every  knight  who  served  on  horseback  was- 
obliged  to  wear  his  equites  aurati.'  As  *  equites  aurati '  can 
only  be  translated  as  '  knights,'  we  feel  that  the  Protestant 
reporter  who  described  the  chancel  of  a  ritualist  church  as 
hung  with  '  burning  thurifers  '  has  at  last  been  matched. 

This  Thomas  is  said,  no  authority  being  cited,  to  have  had 
the  lordship  of  Culwen  in  Galloway  from  his  kinsman  Rowland,, 
son  of  Ughtred  of  Galloway,  and  to  have  given  it  to  his  son 
Patrick.  This  Patrick,  a  younger  son,  was  heir  to  his  brother 
Thomas  or  to  Thomas's  daughter,  and  was  the  next  head  of 
the  house.  Mr.  Curwen  styles  Patrick  the  first  bearer  of  the 
surname  of  Curwen  in  its  old  form  of  Culwen,  but  he  cites  no 
evidence  in  which  he  is  called  by  any  other  name  than  Patrick, 
son  of  Thomas.  His  seal  is  the  first  evidence  of  the  arms  of 
the  family,  which  are  of  silver  fretted  gules  with  a  chief  azure. 
This  seal  is  found  to  a  deed,  presumably  at  Workington.  The 
inscription  is  siGiLL'  PATRICII  •  FILM  •  THOME. 

At  every  step  the  pedigree  of  the  main  line  is  strengthened 
by  the  confirmation  by  the  Curwens  of  their  forefathers'  gifts 
to  the  church.  Gilbert,  the  grandson  of  Patrick  son  of 
Thomas,  according  to  the  register  of  Holme  Cultram  as  quoted 
by  Dugdale,  gives  a  pedigree  of  no  less  than  six  generations, 
speaking  of  himself  as  Gilbert  of  Workington,  son  of  Gilbert, 
son  of  Patrick  who  was  son  of  Thomas,  son  of  Gospatrick,  son 
of  Orme.  The  descent  certainly  agrees  in  this  case  with  known 
facts,  although  we  are  suspicious  by  habit  of  charters  which 


THE   CURWENS    OF    WORKINGTON    227 

name  more  than  two  ancestors.  This  Gilbert  of  Workington 
is  also  Gilbert  of  Culwen,  and  from  his  time  the  surname  of 
Culwen  or  Curwen  becomes  the  settled  use  of  the  family. 

Workington  had  its  licence  to  battle  its  walls  in  1379  under 
Gilbert,  fourth  of  his  name,  a  sheriff  of  Cumberland.  The 
family  rose  to  some  eminence  in  the  world  under  Sir  Chris- 
topher, lord  of  Workington  from  1404  to  1450,  who  fought  in 
the  wars  of  Henry  V.  and  Henry  VI.,  and  earned  a  castle  and 
land  in  the  province  of  Caux.  Needless  to  say  this  possession 
was  soon  swept  away  by  the  rising  tide  of  French  lordship  in 
France.  Sir  Christopher  lies  under  the  best  of  the  Curwen 
monuments,  a  tomb  at  Workington  with  effigies  of  himself 
and  his  lady.  Upon  this  tomb  we  see  the  Curwen  crest  of  a 
unicorn's  head,  not '  a  unicorn's  head  erased,'  as  Canon  Bower 
would  describe  it.  His  seal  has  crest  and  supporters,  the  crest 
in  this  case  being  a  demi-unicorn,  and  the  supporters  a  maiden 
in  a  long  gown  and  a  unicorn.  The  silver  original  is  said  to 
be  preserved  at  Workington,  but  if  the  illustration  of  it  may 
be  trusted,  the  piece  can  hardly  be  genuine,  for  the  picture 
shows  a  seal  impossibly  unlike  anything  of  the  period. 

The  Sir  Thomas  Curwen  of  Henry  VIII. 's  day,  *  an  ex- 
cellent archer  at  twelvescore,'  had  an  old  friendship  with  his 
king  and  begged  of  him  a  lease  of  Furness  Abbey.  Those  who 
would  have  statistics  of  the  curse  which  abbey  lands  bring 
with  them  will  be  disappointed  to  hear  that  five  generations 
follow  Sir  Thomas  in  the  direct  line,  and  that  Workington 
and  the  Curwens  came  by  no  ill  that  can  be  reasonably  traced 
to  the  Furness  lease. 

A  Sunday  evening  in  May  of  1568  saw  a  fishing  boat  driven 
by  weather  into  Workington  Bay  with  Mary  the  Queen  of 
Scots  on  the  deck.  The  queen  and  the  Lord  Herries  were 
made  guests  at  Workington  Hall,  and  left  the  agate  cup  behind 
them  which  is  one  of  the  heirlooms  of  Workington.  Sir 
Henry  Curwen,  the  queen's  kind  though  probably  unwilling 
host,  rode  into  Scotland  with  Sussex  and  Scrope  in  1570  and 
brought  thence  the  iron  gates  of  Carlaverock  Castle,  a  more 
substantial  heirloom,  to  be  hung  in  the  Workington  gatehouse. 

The  civil  war  found  Sir  Patricius  Curwen  of  Workington 
a  baronet  and  a  royalist  colonel,  who  followed  the  king  to 
Oxford.  He  survived,  and  there  follows  amongst  the  family 
memorials  the  familiar  whining  petition  to  the  commissioners 
for  composition  of  estates.  His  warlike  doings  were  unim- 


228  THE   ANCESTOR 

portant,  and  a  fine  of  £2,000  saved  Workington  Hall.  The 
baronetcy  died  with  him,  but  he  lived  to  see  the  Restoration 
and  to  make  a  will  in  1664  in  which  he  utterly  abhorred  and  re- 
nounced *  all  Idolatry  and  Superstition,  all  Heresy  and  Schism.' 
*  Galloping  Harry  Curwen  '  of  Workington  went  into  exile 
with  King  James  II.,  and  he  was  so  long  in  France  that  a  kins- 
man in  1696  had  a  verdict  that  the  squire  was  dead,  and  that 
Darcy  Curwen  of  Sella  was  heir  of  Workington,  a  verdict  which 
brought  Harry  back  home  in  hot  haste.  The  sturdy  faith  of 
Sir  Patricius  disappeared  with  him,  and  Harry  Curwen  is 
found  in  1715  a  papist  and  non- juror.  His  death  provided 
Workington  Hall  with  the  family  ghost  which  such  a  seat 
demands.  A  French  lady  and  her  maid,  whose  presence  at 
the  hall  cannot  be*  explained  without  scandal,  took  the  old 
man  when  nigh  to  death  and  dragged  him  downstairs,  whilst 
they  plundered  his  cupboards  and  strong  boxes.  Since  that 
day  Harry's  head  still  disturbs  the  watches  of  the  night  by 
bumping  from  stair  to  stair. 

The  history  of  the  Curwens  will  be  completed  in  two  more 
parts,  for  which  we  shall  look  with  interest.  Mr.  Curwen's 
arrangement  of  his  work  is  clear  and  the  narrative  may  be 
easily  followed,  but  many  criticisms  may  be  offered  of  his 
methods. 

Throughout  the  story  the  suspicion  arises  that  we  have 
here  a  pedigree  in  which  new  wine  is  poured  into  old  bottles. 
Marriages  and  the  like  are  recorded  again  and  again  without 
evidence  of  any  sort,  and  it  is  disturbing  to  think  that  the  trim- 
ming of  this  carefully-considered  work  maybe  from  some  seven- 
teenth century  pedigree  with  its  guesswork  and  misapprehen- 
sions. The  record  work  is  not  thorough  enough.  In  a  book 
of  this  importance  we  look  at  least  for  such  important  evidences 
as  wills  and  inquests  post-mortem  to  be  quoted  accurately 
and  fully,  but  we  find  important  inquests  quoted  from  the  old 
printed  calendars  without  description  of  their  contents,  and 
the  wills  of  the  family  do  not  seem  to  have  been  examined  in 
detail.  Many  Latin  evidences  are  cited  without  references, 
and  the  Latin  abbreviations  are  set  down  without  amplifica- 
tion or  the  use  of  record  founts.  In  many  cases  the  Latin 
is  copied  with  doubtful  accuracy — *  probio  '  for  '  presbytero  ' 
might  be  amended,  and  diphthongs  of  *  se  '  are  printed  as 
*  oe.'  *  S.  Christofer  of  Curwen  chi  lod  of  Cany  ell '  cannot 
be  a  fair  reading  of  an  English  deed  of  1435,  and  *  the  Rev. 


THE    CURWENS    OF    WORKINGTON    229 

Thomas  Curwen,  a  Roman  Catholick  priest '  of  the  fifteenth 
century  is  a  gross  anachronism  in  form.  The  Christian  names 
of  the  earlier  folk  follow  the  slipshod  form  which  translates  the 
men  and  leaves  the  women  for  the  most  part  in  the  charter 
Latin.  If  Alicia  be  translated  as  Alice,  why  should  Avicia 
not  appear  as  Avice.  Grace  and  Edith  appear  in  the  pedigree 
in  English,  whilst  Isabella  and  Margareta  are  untranslated. 
Mr.  Curwen  will  find  that  the  '  castle  of  Rothomagium,'  from 
which  King  Henry  V.  gives  a  grant  to  a  Curwen,  is  also  capable 
of  translation.  Surely  he  would  not  speak  of  one  of  his  bor- 
derers as  being  hung  at  Carliolensis  gaol  ? 

We  understand  that  all  the  copies  of  this  edition  are 
already  disposed  of,  so  that  Mr.  Curwen  will  doubtless  be 
persuaded  to  undertake  a  second  one  in  which  many  of  these 
points  will  be  considered. 

O.  B. 


230  THE   ANCESTOR 


THE    FORTUNES  OF   A   MIDLAND    HOUSE 

MR.  BARRON'S  criticism  on  the  way  in  which  the  earlier 
generations  of  the  Middlemores  are  treated  in  my  his- 
tory of  that  family  raises  an  important  question  as  to  the 
manner  in  which  we  are  to  regard  the  pedigrees  handed  down 
to  us  by  the  Elizabethan  genealogists,  official  and  otherwise. 
It  would  seem  that  in  Mr.  Barren's  view  such  pedigrees  ought 
to  be  discarded  unless  good  record  evidence  is  forthcoming 
to  support  them.  This  surely  is  too  sweeping — too  icono- 
clastic. Doubtless  many  Elizabethan  pedigrees  will  not  bear 
close  investigation,  and  doubtless  too  the  age  was  not  suffi- 
ciently critical  as  we  now  understand  criticism  in  matters  of 
genealogy.  But  it  is  not  reasonable  to  treat  all  Elizabethan 
pedigrees  as  presumptively  erroneous,  and  the  better  course 
is  to  consider  each  pedigree  upon  its  merits  and  to  accept  it 
as  presumably  true  if  prepared  by  a  known  genealogist,  even  if 
merely  official,  provided  it  does  not  extend  over  too  long  a 
period,  and  abstains  from  performing  genealogical  gymnastics 
with  the  object  of  attaching  a  family  of  middle  rank  to  some 
race  of  greater  note  in  another  and  distant  county.  Thus 
the  many  pedigrees  of  middle  class  Gloucestershire  families 
given  by  John  Smith  of  Nibley,  which  often  go  back  for  many 
generations,  though  it  might  be  hard  to  prove  them  now  by 
record  evidence,  are  presumably  correct,  and  it  is  quite  reason- 
able to  accept  them  as  in  the  main  accurate.  But  a  case  like 
the  Gloucestershire  Selwyns,  for  whom  an  attempt  was  made 
to  tack  them  on  to  the  distant  and  more  notable  family  of  that 
name  in  Sussex,  at  once  excites  suspicion  and  challenges  in- 
quiry. So  too  do  the  pedigrees  of  common  names,  like  Smith, 
whether  prepared  by  Elizabethan  or  Victorian  genealogists, 
bid  us  to  be  critical  when  we  find  them  claiming  descent  from 
some  more  notable  line. 

In  the  case  of  the  Middlemores  a  consideration  of  all  the 
circumstances  indicates  that  the  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean 
pedigrees  of  the  family  are  in  the  main  correct,  and  in  the 
absence  of  any  evidence  militating  against  them  it  is  a  reason- 
able course  to  accept  them  so  long  as  it  is  made  perfectly  clear 


FORTUNES    OF  A    MIDLAND    HOUSE  231 

to  the  reader  on  what  authority  they  rest.  That  is  the  course 
I  followed  in  the  Middlemore  book.  There  is  absolutely  no 
evidence  against  the  pedigrees,  and  they  receive  confirmation 
from  the  fact  that  we  find  persons  in  Warwickshire  records 
corresponding  as  to  date  with  most  of  the  persons  named  in 
the  pedigrees. 

The  pedigree  in  the  Vincent  MSS.,  which  is  the  authority 
for  the  connection  between  the  Edgbaston  Middlemores 
and  those  of  Hawkeslow,  has  for  its  author  Augustine  Vincent, 
the  herald,  who  was  contemporary  with  Richard  Middlemore 
of  Edgbaston,  Simon  Middlemore  of  the  Haselwell  line,  and 
John  Middlemore  of  Hawkeslow.  These  three  men,  all  in 
the  same  rank  of  life,  if  Vincent's  account  be  correct,  would 
be  fourth  cousins.  It  is  perfectly  reasonable  for  so  short  a 
pedigree  to  accept  the  statement  of  a  professional  genealogist 
as  correct,  even  if  at  the  present  day  unsupported  by  record 
evidence ;  it  would  be  unreasonable  to  do  otherwise.  In 
this  case  we  have  better  cause  to  accept  Vincent's  statement, 
as  he  was  himself  connected  with  Sheepey,  in  which  village 
Simon's  son,  George  Middlemore,  had  settled. 

But  in  the  present  case  strong  confirmatory  record  evi- 
dence has  come  to  light  since  the  book  was  issued,  which  an- 
swers plainly  two  of  Mr.  Barren's  pertinent  questions,  (i) 
What  authority  is  there  for  the  existence  of  Nicholas  Middle- 
more  ?  and  (2)  How  do  we  know  that  Isabel,  the  wife  of  the 
London  merchant,  Thomas  Middlemore,  was  an  Edgbaston  ? 
To  the  first  question  an  entry  in  the  gild  book  of  the  Holy 
Trinity  at  Stratford-on-Avon,  lately  sent  me  by  Mr.  Harvey 
Bloom,  rector  of  Whitchurch,  is  a  sufficient  reply. 

Nicholas  Myddelmore,  esquire,  and  Margery  his  wife, 
were  admitted  15  Henry  VI.  [1436-7],  a  date  which  agrees 
with  the  period  of  that  Nicholas  who  figures  as  the  stock- 
father  of  the  Hawkesley  Middlemores. 

Then  as  to  Isabel  Edgbaston.  If  Mr.  Barron  had  kept 
himself  abreast  of  genealogical  literature — a  hard  task  truly, 
but  we  expect  much  from  him — he  would  have  seen  that 
General  Wrottesley  has  printed  in  the  Genealogist,  xviii.  238, 
a  De  Banco  suit  of  35  Henry  VI.  which  gives  the  following 
pedigree. 


232  THE   ANCESTOR 


John  son  of  Henry  de= Isabella 
Eggebaston,   seized 
temp.  £.  III. 


Richard 
Isabella 


Richard  Middlemore 

These  and  various  other  points  are  dealt  with  in  a  small 
supplement  which  I  have  just  printed,  and  from  that  it  will 
be  seen  that  we  are  now  able  to  carry  the  Middlemores  back 
into  the  reign  of  Edward  the  Second.  One  small  criticism  of 
Mr.  Barron's  it  is  impossible  not  to  sympathize  with — the 
absence  of  any  rule  in  my  book  as  to  the  use  of  the  double  date. 
But,  alas,  register  certificates  coming  without  the  context  do 
not  allow  us  always  to  precisely  indicate  the  date,  and  even 
the  registers  themselves  sometimes  leave  us  in  doubt.  But 
generally  it  may  be  taken  that  any  date  between  I  January  and 
25  March  may  with  great  probability  be  ascribed  to  the  sub- 
sequent year  in  order  to  reduce  it  to  more  modern  chronology. 
The  date  May,  on  page  36  of  the  Middlemore  history,  to 
which  Mr.  Barron  refers,  is  obviously  an  error  for  March — an 
error  of  the  same  class  as  the  reviewer's  mistake  of  writing  Lye 
for  Sye,  or  filager  for  filacer.  And  whilst  dealing  with  such 
points  it  may  be  well  to  add  that  Col.  R.  F.  Middlemore  never 
was  *  of  Grantham,'  and  that  it  was  the  son,  and  not  the  grand- 
son, of  Richard  Middlemore  who  in  1869  bought  from  his 
cousins  the  ancient  estate  of  Hawkesley. 

W.  P.  W.  PHILLIMORE. 

Mr.  Phillimore  has  our  congratulations  upon  the  discovery  by  General 
Wrottesley  of  the  proof  for  the  Middlemore  marriage  with  Edgbaston,  and 
upon  Mr.  Bloom's  discovery  of  a  Nicholas  and  Agnes  Middlemore.  But  both 
discoveries,  as  Mr.  Phillimore  will  be  the  first  to  admit,  leave  our  original 
criticism  of  his  work  untouched.  One  assertion  of  the  Elizabethan  pedigree 
which  lacked  proof  has  now  been  proved,  and  a  second  has  its  probability 
strengthened,  but  many  other  weak  links  remain  to  be  strengthened  before  we 
can  regard  Mr.  Thomas  Middlemore's  eighteen  generations  of  pedigree  as  a 
record  secure  at  all  points. 


Our  difference  with  Mr.  Phillimore  lies  after  all  in  our  attitude  toward* 
these  long  pedigrees  which  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries  set  down 
in  the  visitation  books  and  other  genealogical  records.  Mr.  Phillimore's  con- 
tention is  that  they  should  as  a  rule  be  '  accepted  as  presumably  true  '  if  pre- 
pared by  a  known  genealogist — a  phrase  which  should  surely  include  every 
officer  of  arms.  They  must  not  be  too  long,  a  phrase  which  should,  we  submit, 
discredit  the  earlier  and  still  unproved  generations  of  the  Middlemores.  Mr. 
Phillimore's  last  stipulation  that  the  pedigree  to  be  accepted  should  abstain 
from  connecting  families  of  middle  rank  with  great  families  of  the  same  surname 
and  of  distant  dwelling  place  is  an  unfortunate  one,  for  he  thereby  admits  that 
his  pedigree  makers  would  forge  with  a  good  will  when  such  imaginative  work 
was  demanded  of  them.  In  the  case  of  the  Middlemores  we  have  suggested  no 
inherent  improbability  in  any  part  of  the  genealogies  before  us,  but  the  un- 
trustworthiness  in  detail  of  all  such  early  genealogies  is  well  seen  in  the  instance 
of  the  Middlemores  of  Haslewell.  Here  we  have  two  early  versions  of  the 
pedigree.  Vincent's  pedigree  on  the  one  hand  gives  us  a  John  Middlemore  in 
the  direct  line  who  married  Alice  Rotsey,  and  had  issue  George.  The  pedigree 
officially  registered  by  the  heralds  in  1634  omits  both  John  and  Alice,  which 
story  shall  be  '  accepted  as  presumably  true '  ?  In  this  case  Mr.  Phillimore 
will  admit  the  difficulty  of  following  his  rule,  although  he  suggests  reasons  for 
believing  Vincent's  version  rather  than  the  official. 

A  further  difficulty  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Phillimore's  phrase  of  the  '  known 
genealogist '  whose  work  is  to  be  trusted.  We  suggest  to  Mr.  Phillimore,  an 
expert  in  genealogy,  that  there  are  few  early  genealogists  to  whom  the  adjective 
*  notorious  '  rather  than  '  known  '  would  not  be  more  justly  applied.  Vincent 
himself,  indifferent  honest,  and  laborious  beyond  measure,  was  both  credulous 
and  careless.  He  accepted  the  monstrous  pedigree  of  the  Spencers,  neighbours 
of  his  own  family,  without  difficulty,  and  his  pedigrees  for  the  mediaeval  period 
often  suggest  the  well-known  method  of  arranging  people  of  one  surname  in 
the  order  in  which  their  names  are  found  in  deeds  and  records  and  connecting 
them  with  lines  of  descent. 

Mr.  Phillimore  would  make  our  condemnation  of  the  Elizabethan  genealogists 
more  sweeping  than  our  words  justify.  We  do  not  hold  that  their  work  should 
be  cast  aside  or  disregarded  unless  '  good  record  evidence  be  forthcoming  to 
support  them.'  But  whilst  receiving  them  with  all  the  interest  and  respect 
which  they  may  claim,  we  deny  that  they  can  in  any  circumstances  be  received 
as  undoubted  '  proofs  '  of  a  descent.  We  will  willingly  go  further  than  this, 
and  say  that  not  the  Elizabeth  pedigree  alone,  but  no  pedigree,  old  or  new, 
can  be  treated  as  presumably  accurate  unless  the  collateral  evidence  of  records 
be  in  its  favour.  In  this  matter  we  need  maintain  no  appearance  of  disputing 
with  Mr.  Phillimore,  whose  real  agreement  with  us  we  do  not  doubt. 

For  the  Middlemore  pedigree  we  repeat  that  our  criticism  holds  good.  The 
early  generations  of  the  Middlemores  remain  unproven,  and  the  precise  line  of 
descent  of  Mr.  Thomas  Middlemore  of  Melsetter  from  the  parent  stock  of 
Middlemore  of  Edgbaston  is  not  yet  ascertained. — [Eo.] 


234  THE    ANCESTOR 


LETTERS    TO   THE    EDITOR 

ENGLISH   COUNTS   OF  THE   EMPIRE 

IN  my  article  on  this  subject  I  urged 1  the  importance  of 
ascertaining  "  the  actual  words  of  the  limitation  "  in  the 
famous  grant  to  Sir  Thomas  Arundel  of  a  Countship  of  the 
Empire  (14  Dec.  1595).  A  correspondent  has  pointed 
out  to  me  that  the  patent  of  creation  is  printed  dn 
Selden's  Titles  of  Honour  (1672),  and  although  that  work  is 
not  indexed  and  does  not  mention  this  patent  in  its  table  of 
contents,  I  found  it  there  at  last  on  p.  347.  The  essential 
words,  it  will  be  seen,  make  the  honour  descendible  to  all 
and  each  of  the  grantee's  children,  heir,  posterity  and  des- 
cendants, of  either  sex,  born  or  to  be  born,  for  ever. 

te  supradictum  Thomam  Arundelium  qui^jam  ante  comitum  consanguini- 
tatem  a  majoribus  acceptam  in  Anglia  obtines,  omnesque  et  singulos  liberos, 
haeredes,  posteros,  et  descendentes  tuos  legitimos  utriusque  sexus  natos  aeter- 
naque  serie  nascituros  etiam  veros  sacros  (sic)  Roman!  Imperil  Comites  et 
•Comitissas  creavimus,  fecimus,  et  nominavimus,  tituloque,  honore  et  dignitate 
comitatus  Imperialis  auximus  atque  insignivimus  sicut  vigore  praesentium 
creamus,  facimus,  etc.  .  .  .  unacum  universa  prole  atque  posteritate  legitima 
mascula  et  foeminea  in  infinitum  titulum,  nomen,  etc. 

Wide  and  sweeping  as  is  this  limitation,  it  is  obviously 
irreconcilable  with  the  view  that  Lord  Clifford  is  a  Count  of 
the  Empire  in  virtue  of  his  representing  one  of  the  daughters 
and  coheirs  of  one  of  the  Lords  Arundel.  This,  as  I  have  said, 
confuses  the  foreign  with  the  English  system  of  nobility.  The 
above  limitation  must  be  construed  either  as  ennobling  all 
the  members  of  the  Arundel  family  descended  from  the 
grantee  (which  I  contend  is  the  right  interpretation)  or  as 
ennobling  the  host  of  families  who  can  trace  descent  from  him 
through  any  number  of  females.  In  neither  case  can  it  be 
limited  to  Lord  Clifford  as  the  coheir  of  one  Lord  Arundel. 
And  this  conclusion  must  apply  mutatis  mutandis  to  the 
St.  Paul  case  also. 

J.  HORACE  ROUND. 
1  Ancestor,  vii.  15. 


LETTERS    TO    THE    EDITOR          235 

THE    CRESSY    FAMILY 
SIR, 

In  No.  2,  p.  213  of  the  Ancestor  there  is  an  error  which  I 
venture  to  correct.  It  is  in  the  abstract  of  a  Chancery  suit 
in  which  the  Tyrwhit  and  Cressy  families  are  concerned. 
Faith,  the  wife  of  George  Tyrwhit,  is  said  to  have  been 
*  daughter  of  Everingbam  Cressy,  a  Lincolnshire  Justice,'  etc. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  her  father  was  Nicholas  Cressy  of  Fulsby 
in  the  parish  of  Kirkby-on-Bain.  In  his  will  dated  22  Feb. 
i6lff,  and  proved  9  Aug.  1630,  he  mentions  his  eldest 
daughter,  Faith  Tyrwhit,  and  his  grandchild,  Francis  Pagett. 
She  had  married  William  Pagett  at  Kirkby-on-Bain  1 1  Apl. 
1615,  and  she  married  her  second  husband,  George  Tyrwhit, 
24  Aug.  1626,  at  West  Keal.  He  had  been  baptized  at  East 
Keal  1 5  July  1 604.  She  outlived  him,  and  died  at  Scrivelsby 
(where  she  made  her  will  18  Feb.  i6f8  ;  proved  13  July 
1672),  the  home  of  her  sister  Jane,  Lady  Dymoke. 

A.  K.  MADDISON. 
VICARS'  COURT,  LINCOLN. 
7  March  1904. 

GILBERT   PECHE   OF   CORBY 

SIR, 

I  shall  be  extremely  obliged  if  one  of  your  correspondents 
will  help  me  to  the  elucidation  of  the  following  doubtful  points. 
Gilbert  Peche,  Lord  of  Corby  (Northants),  whose  name  and 
seal  appear  attached  to  the  Barons'  Letter,  is  said  to  have  died 
1322,  and  to  have  had  two  brothers  who  were  disinherited. 
The  accounts  of  his  parentage  and  of  his  wife's  name  differ, 
and  I  am  anxious  to  know  what  became  of  his  descendants 
and  of  those  of  his  two  brothers. 

Yours  faithfully, 

GEORGE  C.  PEACHEY. 

BRIGHTWALTON,  WANTAGE. 


236  THE    ANCESTOR 


EDITORIAL  NOTES 

MORE  than  one  copy  has  reached  us  of  a  circular  con- 
cerning a  History  of  Derbyshire  projected  by  a  Mr. 
Pym  Yeatman,  whose  book  upon  The  Brownes  of  Becbworth 
Castle  is  also  in  our  hands.  Mr.  Yeatman  has  many  enemies. 
His  publishers  and  his  printers  would  seem  to  have  taken 
counsel  together  to  do  him  evil.  He  is  wronged  by  the 
heralds  of  arms,  by  the  Saturday  Review,  by  his  fellow-barris- 
ters, by  the  Midland  Circuit  mess,  by  the  benchers,  and  by 
the  judges,  *  who  have  been  bribed  to  aid  the  carpet-baggers/ 
and  who  refuse  him  the  '  Patent  of  Precedence,'  without 
which  Mr.  Yeatman  will  not  practise  any  more  in  courts  of 
appeal.  This  patent  is  urgently  needed  for  Mr.  Yeatman's 
protection  (  from  the  insults,  injustice,  and — it  is  really  terrible 
to  write  it — the  slanders  from  which  he  has  repeatedly  suffered 
so  severely  from  both  Bench  and  Bar.'  More  especially  is 
Mr.  Pym  Yeatman  wronged  by  the  existence  of  Mr.  Horace 
Round,  '  one  of  the  worst  critics  of  the  days,'  and  by  all  Yeat- 
manly  standards  a  c  crassly  ignorant '  person.  We  do  right 
then  if  we  endeavour  to  purge  Mr.  Round's  guilty  name  from 
one  offence  specified  in  Mr.  Yeatman's  circulars.  He  does 
not  *  edit  the  Ancestor  under  the  name  of  his  wood-engraver.' 

*         *         # 

It  is  painful  to  us  to  have  to  explain  to  Mr.  Pym  Yeatman 
that  the  belief  that  Mr.  Round  was  editor  of  the  Ancestor, 
would,  until  the  Histories  of  Derbyshire  are  more  widely  known 
and  appreciated,  have  a  certain  effect  in  raising  the  Ancestor's 
sales.  For  this  reason  we  must  confess,  however  unwillingly, 
that  Mr.  Round  does  not  edit  the  Ancestor,  which  is  and  has 
been  edited  by  the  person  whose  name  is  upon  the  title-page. 
Furthermore,  although  Mr.  Round  in  his  arrogance  may  go 
about,  for  aught  we  know,  attended  by  his  own  wood-engraver 
as  a  Highland  chieftain  by  his  bard,  we  are  not  that  wood- 
engraver.  The  epithet  of  wood-engraver  is  a  flattering  one, 
a  tempting  one  to  accept.  Mrs.  Wilier,  of  Our  Mutual  Friend, 
recalling  past  glories  of  her  father's  table,  remembered  it  as 


EDITORIAL   NOTES  237 

surrounded  at  one  time  by  '  no  less  than  four  wood-engravers, 
exchanging  the  liveliest  sallies.'  And  the  beautiful  art  is  dis- 
appearing, but  for  us  it  must  disappear,  our  ignorance  of  it 
being  enough  to  make  Mr.  Joseph  Pennell  very  angry  indeed. 

*  *         * 

Mr.  Yeatman's  is  not  the  only  circular  which  has  made 
itself  into  a  paper  dart  against  the  Ancestor,  but  it  is  the  first 
to  which  we  have  replied.  Our  correction  of  poor  Mr.  Yeat- 
man  must  not  be  taken  as  a  precedent.  If  we  reply  to-day 
to  circulars  and  leaflets,  we  shall  reply  to-morrow  to  challenges 
from  sandwichmen's  boards,  and  the  day  after  to-morrow  to 
menaces  chalked  upon  our  front  door. 

*  #         # 

The  useful  record  work  which  can  be  done  by  a  skilled 
antiquary  living  a  hundred  miles  from  the  public  record  office 
is  well  seen  in  Mr.  Walter  Rye's  new  calendar  of  deeds  relating 
to  Norwich  and  enrolled  in  the  Norwich  court  rolls.  The 
series  covers  the  period  from  1285  to  1306.  Although  few 
genealogists  of  the  school  which  depends  upon  wills  and  parish 
registers  will  ever  carry  their  pedigrees  to  an  ancestor  amongst 
these  old  Norwich  citizens,  the  archaeological  value  of  the 
entries  is  very  great.  Sixteen  rectors  and  vicars  are  added  to 
the  imperfect  lists  given  by  Blomefield  in  his  history  of  Nor- 
folk. A  bell-founder  is  found  in  Norwich  a  whole  century 
before  the  earliest  noted  by  the  late  Mr.  L'Estrange,  and  the 
Norwich  industries  and  crafts  are  illustrated  by  the  various 
callings  of  the  parties  to  the  deeds.  That  dyeing  was  already 
a  famous  mystery  in  Norwich  is  shown  by  the  numerous 
'  tinctores,'  and  *  weyders '  or  dealers  in  woad.  There  are 
foreigners  from  Norway,  Tuscany,  Bruges  and  Paris.  Eight 
people  of  the  knightly  class  are  holders  of  city  property,  with 
many  others  of  gentle  rank.  The  study  of  English  surnames 
is  aided  by  the  long  line  of  examples  of  a  period  when  place- 
names,  craft-names  and  nicknames  were  slowly  crystallizing 
into  fixed  and  heritable  family  names. 

*  #         * 

The  frequent  changes  of  surname  amongst  medieval 
families  make  bafHing  difficulty  for  the  modern  genealogist. 
It  is  at  least  possible  that  those  who  come  after  us  will,  despite 
all  the  registers  of  the  Registrar-General,  find  it  hard  to  bridge 

Q 


238  THE   ANCESTOR 

the  gap  which  a  change  of  name  makes  in  pedigrees  of  our  own 
day.  Mr.  W.  P.  W.  Phillimore  has  in  type  an  index  to  changes 
of  surnames  which  will  be  a  key  to  at  least  10,000  families. 
The  usefulness  of  this  work  will  be  acknowledged  to-day,  but 
its  importance  will  certainly  increase  with  every  generation. 

*         »         • 

We  have  had  to  encounter  many  difficulties  in  setting 
about  our  proposed  pictorial  survey  and  record  of  the  ancient 
arms  in  Westminster  Abbey.  At  last  we  have  reason  to  hope 
that  our  next  number  will  contain  the  first  instalment  of 
this  work  so  important  to  students  of  English  armory.  Steps 
are  being  taken  to  obtain  casts  of  the  famous  shields  of  arms 
in  the  abbey  nave,  shields  which  are  remarkable  for  their 
antiquity  and  interest.  Their  position  and  the  presence  of 
gas-brackets  and  the  like  have  made  it  hitherto  impossible  to 
secure  satisfactory  photographs  of  the  whole  series. 


Butler  &  Tanner,  The  Selwood  Printing  Works,  Frome,  and  London. 


The  Stall  Plates  of  the  Knights  of 
the  Order  of  the  Garter  1 348-1485 

Consisting  of  a  Series  of  9 1  Full-sized  Coloured  Facsimiles 
with  Descriptive  Notes  and  Historical  Introductions  by 

W.  H.  ST.  JOHN  HOPE,  M.A.,  F.S.A. 

Dedicated  by  gracious  privilege  during  her  lifetime  to  HER 
LATE  MAJESTY  QUEEN  VICTORIA,  SOVEREIGN  OF  THE 
MOST  NOBLE  ORDER  OF  THE  GARTER. 

'The  edition  is  strictly  limited  and  only  500  copies  of  the  work 
have  been  printed. 

The  object  of  the  work  is  to  illustrate  the  whole  of  the 
earlier  Stall  Plates,  being  the  remaining  memorials  of  the  four- 
teenth and  fifteenth  century  of  Knights  elected  under  the 
Plantagenet  Sovereigns  from  Edward  the  Third,  Founder  of 
the  Order,  to  Richard  the  Third,  inclusive,  together  with  three 
palimpsest  plates  and  one  of  later  date. 

The  Stall  Plates  are  represented  full-size  and  in  colours  on 
Japan  vellum,  in  exact  facsimile  of  the  originals,  in  the  highest 
style  of  chromolithography,  from  photographs  of  the  plates 
themselves. 

Each  plate  is  accompanied  by  descriptive  and  explanatory 
notes,  and  the  original  and  general  characteristics  of  the  Stall 
Plates  are  fully  dealt  with  in  an  historical  introduction. 

There  are  also  included  numerous  seals  of  the  Knights,  repro- 
duced by  photography  from  casts  specially  taken  for  this  work. 

The  work  may  be  obtained  bound  in  half  leather,  gilt, 
price  £6  net ;  or  the  plates  and  sheets  loose  in  a  portfolio, 
£5  IQS.  net ;  or  without  binding  or  portfolio,  £5  net. 

ATHENJEUM  :  *  It  is  pleasant  to  welcome  the  first  part  of  a  long 
promised  and  most  important  heraldic  work,  and  to  find  nothing  to  say  of  it 
which  is  not  commendatory.  The  present  part  contains  ten  coloured  facsimiles 
out  of  the  ninety  plates  which  the  work  will  include  when  completed.  They 
reflect  the  greatest  credit  on  all  concerned  in  their  production.' 

MORNING  POST :  *  There  is  a  fine  field  for  antiquarian  research  in  the 
splendid  collection  of  heraldic  plates  attached  to  the  stalls  in  the  choir  of  St. 
George's  Chapel,  Windsor  Castle,  and  it  will  be  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  all 
who  are  interested  in  old  memorials  that  Mr.  W.  H.  St.  John  Hope  has  given 
close  examination  to  these  ancient  insignia  and  now  presents  the  results  of  his 
investigations,  with  many  reproductions.' 

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THE   PASTON   LETTERS 

Edited  by  JAMES  GAIRDNER 

Of  the  Public  Record  Office 

4  vols.y  iis.  net 

THE  FOURTH  VOLUME  CONTAINING  THE  INTRODUCTION  AND 
SUPPLEMENT  MAY  BE  PURCHASED  SEPARATELY 

Price  i  os.  6d.  net 

These  Letters  are  the  genuine  correspondence  of  a  family  in 
Norfolk  during  the  Wars  of  the  Roses.  As  such  they  are  altogether 
unique  in  character  ;  yet  the  language  is  not  so  antiquated  as  to  present 
any  serious  difficulty  to  the  modern  reader.  The  topics  of  the  letters 
relate  partly  to  the  private  affairs  of  the  family,  and  partly  to  the 
stirring  events  of  the  time  ;  and  the  correspondence  includes  State 
papers,  love-letters,  bailiffs'  accounts,  sentimental  poems,  jocular  epistles, 
etc. 

Besides  the  public  news  of  the  day,  such  as  the  loss  of  Normandy 
by  the  English  ;  the  indictment  and  subsequent  murder  at  sea  of  the 
Duke  of  Suffolk  ;  and  all  the  fluctuations  of  the  great  struggle  of  York 
and  Lancaster  ;  we  have  the  story  of  John  Paston's  first  introduction 
to  his  wife  ;  incidental  notices  of  severe  domestic  discipline,  in  which 
his  sister  frequently  had  her  head  broken  ;  letters  from  Dame  Elizabeth 
Brews,  a  match-making  mamma,  who  reminds  the  youngest  John 
Paston  that  Friday  is  *  St.  Valentine's  Day,'  and  invites  him  to  come 
and  visit  her  family  from  the  Thursday  evening  till  the  Monday,  etc., 
etc. 

Every  letter  has  been  exhaustively  annotated  ;  and  a  Chronological 
Table,  with  most  copious  Indices,  conclude  the  Work. 

HENRT  HALLAM,  Introduction  to  the  Literature  of  Europe,  i.  228.  Ed.  1837  :  «  The 
Paston  Letters  are  an  important  testimony  to  the  progressive  condition  of  Society,  and  come  in 
as  a  precious  link  in  the  chain  of  moral  history  of  England  which  they  alone  in  this  period 
supply.  They  stand,  indeed,  singly,  as  far  as  I  know,  in  Europe  ;  for  though  it  is  highly 
probable  that  in  the  archives  of  Italian  families,  if  not  in  France  or  Germany,  a  series  of 
merely  private  letters  equally  ancient  may  be  concealed  ;  I  do  not  recollect  that  any  have 
been  published.  They  are  all  written  in  the  reigns  of  Henry  VI.  and  Edward  IV.,  except  a 
few  that  extend  as  far  as  Henry  VII.,  by  different  members  of  a  wealthy  and  respectable,  but 
not  noble,  family  ;  and  are,  therefore,  pictures  of  the  life  of  the  English  gentry  of  that  age.' 

THE  MORNING  POST  :  '  A  reprint  of  Mr.  James  Gairdner's  edition  of  The  Paston 
Letters  with  some  fresh  matter,  including  a  new  introduction.  Originally  published  in 
1872-75,  it  was  reprinted  in  1895,  and  is  now  again  reproduced.  The  introductions  have 
been  reset  in  larger  type,  and  joined  together  in  one,  conveniently  broken  here  and  there  by 
fresh  headings.  The  preface  is  practically  a  new  one.  ...  It  is  highly  satisfactory  for 
readers  who  care  about  history,  social  or  political,  to  have  this  well-printed  and  admirably 
introduced  and  annotated  edition  of  these  famous  letters.' 

MANCHESTER  GUARDIAN :  « One  of  the  monuments  of  English  historical  scholar- 
ship that  needs  no  commendation.* 

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The  first  English  Translation  of  Chateaubriand's  famous 
Autobiography — *•  Memoirh  d' Outre  tombe* 

THE 

POSTHUMOUS    MEMOIRS 
OF    FRANCOIS    RENE 

VICOMTE  DE  CHATEAUBRIAND 

Sometime    Ambassador 
to    England 

Translated  by  ALEXANDER  TEIXEIRA  DE  MATTOS 

With  44  Illustrations  from  Contemporary  Sources 
In  6  vols.    Purple  cloth,  gilt  top,  price  £4  los.  net 

DR.  WILLIAM  BARRY  in  the  Bookman  :  *  Mr.  de  Mattos  has  seen  a  rare 
chance,  and  has  taken  it  boldly.  .  .  .  These  "Memoirs  from  Beyond 
the  Tomb  "  are  certainly  unploughed  land,  inviolate  as  some  Greek  Temple 
enclosure — or,  to  put  the  matter  more  temptingly,  if  half  a  dozen  books  over- 
flowing with  incidents,  reflections,  descriptions  of  persons  and  landscapes  ; 
picturesque,  irritating,  curious,  and  brilliant,  equal  to  these,  were  flung  upon 
the  circulating  libraries,  someone  would  make  his  fortune.  Let  us  hope  it  will 
be  Mr.  de  Mattos.' 

MR.  AUGUSTINE  BIRRELL,  K.C.,  M.P.,  in  the  Westminster  Gazette :  '  This 
excellent  translation.' 

Pall  Mall  Gazette  :  *  There  is  reason  to  congratulate  Mr.  de  Mattos  on  the 
grace  and  fluency  of  his  translation,  and  on  the  careful  accuracy  of  his 
numerous  footnotes.' 

Times :  *  Mr.  Alexander  Teixeira  de  Mattos's  excellent  rendering  of 
Chateaubriand's  Mtmoire's  d"1  Outre-tombed 

Observer  :  '  Mr.  A.  Teixeira  de  Mattos  is  to  be  congratulated  upon  this 
first  instalment  of  a  remarkable  achievement.  ...  A  worthy  translation.  .  .  . 
So  admirable  an  English  version  as  is  given  by  the  zeal  and  talent  of  Mr.  de 
Mattos.' 

Daily  Telegraph  :  '  A  valuable  and  scholarly  translation  .  .  .  elucidated 
by  concise  and  sufficient  footnotes  wherever  necessary.' 

Tablet  :  '  Both  translator  and  publisher  have  performed  their  task  well.  .  .  . 
Mr.  de  Mattos  set  himself  to  make  a  conscientiously  correct  and  respectful 
translation  of  a  great  original,  and  he  has  given  us  so  excellent  a  rendering,  so 
adequately  and  beautifully  produced  and  illustrated  by  the  publishers,  that  we 
await  the  remaining  volumes  with  the  greatest  interest.' 

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The    Old  Court  Suburb 

(KENSINGTON) 
By  J.  H.  LEIGH  HUNT 

Edited,   with    an    Introduction  and  Notes,  by  AUSTIN  DOBSON 

With  very  numerous  Photogravure  and  other  Illustrations  by  HERBERT 
RAILTON,  CLAUDE  SHEPPERSON,  and  EDMUND  J.  SULLIVAN 

2  vols.,  large  square  8vo,  price  £i    is.  net 

EDITION  DE   LUXE 
Signed   by  the  Artists,  and  limited  to  150  copies,  price  £4  4*.  net. 

Kensington  (the  Old  Court  Suburb)  was  still,  at  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  in  the  country,  and  the  garden  of  Wilberforce,  who 
occupied  Gore  House  from  1808  to  1825,  is  described  as  being  'full  of 
lilacs  and  laburnums,  nightingales  and  swallows.' 

*  The  way  to  it  (Kensington)  is  the  pleasantest  out  of  town  ;  you  may 
walk  in  high  road,  or  on  grass,  as  you  please  ;  the  fresh  air  salutes  you  from 
a  healthy  soil,  and  there  is  not  a  step  of  the  way,  from  its  commencement  at 
Kensington  Gore  to  its  termination  beyond  Holland  House,  in  which  you 
are  not  greeted  with  the  face  of  some  pleasant  memory.' 

ATHENAEUM  :  '  To  produce  a  good  old  book  and  make  it  a  new  one  without  offence 
is  a  great  feat.  .  .  .  Mr.  Austin  Dobson  was  the  very  man  to  write  the  graceful  introduction 
and  brief  notes.  .  .  .' 

Gilbert    White's    Selborne 

Edited  by  DR.  R.  BOWDLER  SHARPE 

The    hitherto  unpublished  l  Garden   Kalendar,'  to    which    the  Very 
Rev.  DEAN  HOLE  has  written  an  Introduction,  is  included 

Illustrated  by  E.  J.  SULLIVAN,  J.  G.  KEULEMANS,  and  HERBERT  RAILTON 
Price,  2  vols.  large  8vo,  £2  2s.  net. 

COUNTRY  LIFE  :  'The  Edition  of  "The  Natural  History  and  Antiquities  of 
Selborne  and  A  Garden  Kalendar,"  issued  in  two  volumes,  is  a  work  so  modestly  beautiful, 
and  so  precious,  that  the  reviewer  approaches  it  with  awe.  .  .  .  The  topographical  pictures 
by  Mr.  Herbert  Railton  of  the  familiar  objects  at  Selborne — Norton  Farm,  the  Plestor, 
the  Street,  the  Church,  the  Yew  Tree,  and  so  forth — are  as  good  as  can  be,  the  very 
perfection  of  delicate  work.  Birds  and  beasts  have  fallen  to  the  lot  of  Mr.  J.  G.  Keule- 
mans,  and,  short  of  colour,  I  have  never  seen  anything  of  the  kind  nearly  as  good  as  they 
are.  The  birds  are,  perhaps,  a  trifle  more  perfect  than  the  beasts.  Of  full-page  illustrations 
there  are  fifty ;  of  minor  illustrations  a  good  number.  .  .  .  Altogether  this  is  a  very  com- 
plete and  worthy  edition,  and  it  is  destined  to  be  the  family  Bible  of  those  who  follow  the 
cult  of  Gilbert  White,  and  the  number  of  them  increases  every  day.' 

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The  Church  Plate  of  the 
County  of  Hereford 


BY 


THE  HON.  BERKELEY  L.  SCUDAMORE  STANHOPE,  M.A. 
ARCHDEACON  OF  HEREFORD,  AND  HAROLD 

C.    MOFFATT,    M.A. 

Demy  4/0.     Illustrated.     Price   31$.  6d.   net 
Edition  limited  to  250  copies 


This  volume  is  published  with  the  view  to  furnishing  a 
record  of  the  Communion  Vessels  belonging  to  each  Church, 
or  Mission  Church,  in  the  County  of  Hereford,  including  one 
or  two  private  Chapels.  Similar  works  have  already  been 
published  for  several  Counties,  while  in  other  Counties  pro- 
gress is  being  made  with  such  inventories. 

The  size  of  the  book  is  Demy-Quarto,  bound  in  buckram, 
with  17  photogravure  plates,  and  9  half-tone  plates  from 
photographs  and  pen  and  ink  drawings.  The  illustrations 
have  been  prepared  by  Messrs.  T.  &  R.  Annan  &  Sons,  of 
Glasgow.  The  Parishes  are  alphabetically  arranged  for  easy 
reference,  and  the  name  of  the  Parish  is  printed  under  the 
vessel  pictured  in  each  illustration. 

An  Inventory  of  Church  Goods  in  this  County,  as  returned 
by  King  Edward  VI.'s  Commissioners  in  1552-53,  is  included 
as  an  appendix,  being  the  first  time  these  returns  have  been 
published  in  their  entirety  for  this  County. 


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2  WHITEHALL  GARDENS  WESTMINSTER 


TO    BE    PUBLISHED    SHORTLT 

The  History  of  the  King's  Bodyguard 
of  the  Yeomen  of  the  Guard 

Instituted  by  King  Henry  VII.  in  the  Year  1485  under  the  title  of 
'Valecti  Garde  Corporis  Nostri' 

DEDICATED    BY    SPECIAL    PERMISSION    TO 

His   MOST   GRACIOUS  MAJESTY   KING  EDWARD  VII. 

OF   GREAT   BRITAIN   AND    IRELAND,   AND   OF   THE    BRITISH 

DOMINIONS    BEYOND   THE    SEAS,    DEFENDER  OF 

THE   FAITH,  EMPEROR   OF  INDIA,  ETC. 

BY 

COLONEL   SIR   REGINALD    HENNEL,   KT.,   D.S.O. 

LIEUTENANT  THE    KING'S   BODYGUARD   OF   THE 
YEOMEN   OF   THE    GUARD 

The  Edition,  which  will  contain  some  seventy  coloured  plates, 
photogravures,  collotype  plates,  etc.,  will  be  strictly  limited  to  300 
copies  for  sale  and  1 5  copies  for  presentation.  The  names  of  sub- 
scribers before  going  to  press  will  be  printed  in  the  volume.  The 
price  of  the  volume  will  be  £3  35.  net  to  subscribers  before  publication, 
after  which  the  right  is  reserved  to  raise  the  price. 
The  History  will  consist  of  : — 

I.  Brief  account  of  the  Bodyguards  of  the  Kings  of  England 

from  Canute  to  Richard  III. 

II.  Creation  of  the  '  Yeomen  of  the  Guard  *  by  Henry  VII.  on 
or  about  the  22nd  August,  1485. 

III.  The   Guard's   first    title,   its   first   establishment,  the  first 

Captain  and  Officers,  its  original  dress,  weapons,  pay,  and 
duties. 

IV.  History  of  the  Guard  at  Home  and  Abroad  for  418  years, 

with  detailed  accounts  of  the  Battles  and  Sieges  at  which 
it  has  been  present,  and  the  principal  Historical  Events  in 
which  it  has  taken  part. 
V.  Historical  Roll  of  the   Officers  1485  to  1903,  and  many 

Muster  Rolls  of  the  Yeomen  at  great  ceremonies. 
These  Historical  Rolls  give  the  dates  of  appointment  verified  from 
the  actual  Warrants  in  the  State  Records,  and  show  that  upwards  of 
200  of  our  oldest  families  have  had  ancestors  amongst  the  Officers, 
many  of  whom  are  renowned  in  English  History. 

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cs 

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no.  9 


The  Ancestor 


PLEASE  DO  NOT  REMOVE 
CARDS  OR  SLIPS  FROM  THIS  POCKET 


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